The Gibbs' Quirks
by lesipiratecat
Summary: "Gibbs had always been full of surprises. After Tony and Gibbs had finally confessed their love for each other and gotten together, Tony started calling them "Gibbs' Quirks". And just as Gibbs had written down all the "Gibbs' Rules", Tony wrote down each quirk as it came to him. This is the story for each of those quirks."
1. Gibbs Quirk Number 13

Disclaimer: I do not own NCIS or its characters.

Note: This is a collection of one-shots. Some will be pre-slash or as they get together while others will be post-them-getting-together. Some will be short. Some will be long. Idea explained in intro. Enjoy!

~~~~~NCIS~~~~~

Intro: So if anyone, even an ex-wife, had come to Tony and told him things about Gibbs, in response to most of them Tony would've laughed and called them insane. Though he guessed after being lovers/husband to the grey-haired man for so long and partners/friends with him for even longer, he really shouldn't have been so surprised to find out the things he did. Gibbs had always been full of surprises. After Tony and Gibbs had finally confessed their love for each other and gotten together, Tony started calling them "Gibbs' Quirks". And just as Gibbs had written down all the "Gibbs' Rules", Tony wrote down each quirk as it came to him.

This is the story for each of those quirks.

~~~~~NCIS~~~~~

Tony had never been more tired in his life. Which was no surprise considering, he'd never made love all day before either. He still could hardly even believe that fact. If it wasn't for the pain in his ass and muscles, he'd have thought it was just a dream, a lovely, arousing, sex-filled, wonderful dream. As he woke up and remembered it, he smiled widely. He had never been more in love than he was with Leroy Jethro Gibbs. It's the reason that Tony was so happy to be waking up in the older man's house, his bed. For once, he wasn't dreading having to get up and leave, having that talk with whoever's bed he woke up in where he told them the sex was a one-time thing, and the regret, self-hatred, and loneliness he'd started to feel because of it as he got older. Nope, not today. Because he and Gibbs were in this for the long-run.

Speaking of the man, as Tony reached out, he realized that he wasn't in the bed with Tony. Tony was about to second-guess everything when he heard a faint noise coming from the bathroom. Furrowing his brows in confusion, Tony got out of the bed and walked down to the master bathroom. The noise got louder but was distorted by the sound of the shower and Gibbs' voice. When he finally got to the door, he slowly and quietly turned the knob and pushed it just a little bit open. Peeking in, he saw his lover's silhouette behind the textured doors of the shower. As what he was seeing and hearing finally hit him, Tony's eyes widened and he had to use all his self-control not to gasp or laugh or say something.

His lover, the hard-ass Boss, the "second B is for Bastard", the man who had pretty much faced everything that would make any simple man fall in the fetal position and cry and lived to tell the tale, the famous Leroy Jethro Gibbs was not only listening to country music but singing along to it. Tony didn't know Gibbs even liked any kind of music let alone country music! He had never seen the man turn the radio on in the car except to listen to the weather or sports stations. He'd never seemed to own an iPod or CD player. He'd never turned music on while working on his boat even though he had a radio down there. He had on numerous occasions turned off Tony or Abby or anyone's music without any explanation as to why. He had some recordings of Kelly playing music on the piano, but that was pretty much the only music Gibbs had ever seemed to own or listen to. Tony and Abby had asked him before why he didn't like music. Most of the times, he had just ignored the question. But Tony swore he'd said one time that it annoyed him. So why was the man listening to it in the shower? And why country music? Tony didn't exactly dislike country music; it just depended on the song and artist.

Just then, his lover reached for the handle and turned the water off. Tony quickly closed the door and went back to the bedroom. He lay back down on the bed and pretended to be asleep. Gibbs came in two minutes later, wearing nothing but a towel. He had known Tony had peeked in on him in the shower; he'd felt his lover's eyes on him. Now that he and Tony were together, he didn't see a reason to stop what he was doing and pretend Tony didn't see what he saw. He just wondered why, after all the time, Tony felt he had to pretend he didn't. He stood at the foot of the bed and looked down at him. "I know you're awake Tony," he said sternly.

Tony opened his eyes and smiled sheepishly at Gibbs. Then he scooted down to the edge of the bed where Gibbs was standing and opened his legs so Gibbs was standing between them. He looked up at Gibbs as if waiting for Gibbs to tell him he was upset he'd spied on him. But instead, Gibbs just gave him a small, gentle smile and leaned down to give him a loving kiss. Tony responded immediately, sighing into the kiss with contentment, and relaxed as he felt that Gibbs wasn't mad at him.

After a moment Gibbs pulled away, he looked down at Tony with a somewhat sad expression and said, "I used to hate music because Shannon and Kelly both loved it. But country music was big in Stillwater. I listen to it because it relaxes me and reminds me of Shannon and Kelly without being too much of a reminder."

Tony nodded slowly in understanding. He knew there were some things that his lover may never be able to enjoy again because of losing his girls. He didn't mind. And if Gibbs would be willing to listen to some country with Tony, then he'd get used to it because he loved Gibbs. They saw each other's understanding on their faces and smiled at each other. Gibbs moved to get dressed then headed downstairs for his second cup of morning coffee.

Tony reached into the drawer and pulled out the worn notebook. He opened to a blank spot and wrote: "_Gibbs' Quirk Number 13: listens to country music in the shower"._


	2. Gibbs Quirk Number 4

Disclaimer: still do not own

Note: this next Quirk story explores Tony's first impressions of NCIS, Gibbs, and Abby and how Tony realized early on that Gibbs likes to keeps secrets. Also, I forgot to mention at the beginning of the first chapter/Quirk but these are going to be out of order. Why? Because it would be boring to put them all in order (for me anyway), but mostly because I wrote/write them as they came/come to me. I've written the stories behind 6 out of 9 already-planned quirks so far and I plan on having as many as I can come up with. I try to make them in somewhat chronological order (like quirk 1 would be the first quirk Tony realizes Gibbs has, the second would be next, and so on), but since I don't have a complete list, that may get a little dodgy so just go with it. It also is probably going to get OOC at times as well as partly AU. Anyway, hope you enjoy!

~~~~~NCIS~~~~~

Tony may deny out loud that he was an extremely nosy person, but that didn't mean he actually thought he wasn't. Quite the contrary, Tony was pretty sure he was one of the nosiest people out there. It got him in trouble on a number on occasions or would at least cause Boss to headslap him. He had stuck his nose in to a plenty of places where it didn't belong. People's sex lives and relationship issues/status, coworker's salaries, and other's health problems were just some of the things that weren't off limits to his curious questioning.

When he'd first joined NCIS, he'd decided to look into the files of Gibbs and Abby as well as Director Morrow. If asked, he would tell that person that he'd wanted to know who he was working for, under, and with, which wasn't a complete lie. He'd hopped from place to place because he hadn't liked or felt comfortable with the other cops he worked with. And there was the whole Danny-being-dirty incident that diminished his trust in others and himself as well. Tony had wanted to make sure that he wouldn't run into those problems again. It didn't matter that Gibbs seemed different somehow, more trustworthy than anyone he'd ever met in his life; he was tired of leaving one city for the next because of the people, and NCIS seemed better than any of the others. He really wanted to belong somewhere, and there was a part of him, maybe a slightly insane, naïve, and desperate part he didn't know at the time, that felt that he could belong at NCIS -belong alongside Gibbs- despite the horror stories people told him when he'd first joined and it was discovered he was Gibbs' new partner.

The real reason he'd looked into their backgrounds though was mostly because he wanted to KNOW Abby and especially Gibbs. Meeting the forensic scientist he'd be working pretty closely with for the foreseeable future was truly an experience. He remembered how, during the first case he and Gibbs worked on together (a break-in to the Navy Yard's security center), Gibbs ordered Tony to take the bagged evidence down to the lab. Tony had looked at him with a mixture of disbelief and fear. He was normally excited to meet new people, but he'd heard stories about people who were on Abby's bad side and knew it was not a good place to be. It had been said she was almost as scary as Gibbs when she decided she didn't like you. Gibbs just looked at him with a glare and said, "You'll be fine. Now go." When the elevator doors opened, he was surprised to hear the loud, angry-sounding music blasting from the room across from him. He looked around to make sure he was on the right floor before going in. He had stood there awkwardly for a moment, the box of evidence in his hands, as he took in her appearance. He'd heard she had an eclectic taste in clothing but he hadn't expected her to be so Goth, in all black with huge, clunky black boots, a spiky dog collar, lots of tattoos, and her hair in two black pigtails. It was different and made him wonder if the people who had said she was extremely nice had been telling the truth. 'Only one way to find out,' he told himself before he took a deep breath and shouted, "Abby?"

She turned around, using a remote to turn down her music, and smiled welcomingly, "Hey! You the new guy?"

Tony nodded and gave her his best smile as he set the box down on her table, "Yes ma'am! Anthony DiNozzo -call me Tony- at your service."

She'd giggled then attacked him with a hug. He tensed with shock at first but then relaxed and hugged her back. When she pulled back, she was still smiling as she squealed, "It's so great to meet you! I can't believe you're working with Gibbs! That's so amazing because he is my favorite here. No offense to anyone else but he's just always so nice and brings me a Caf-Pow almost every time he comes to see me. Don't you dare believe any of the rumors you have heard about him! Well that might be a little unfair considering that a lot of them are true. Actually, all of them might true. But there's also more to him than that. You'll see. He's a lot different than people say he is. He's like a pitbull; he's just got a bad rep. You know, how people are always like 'Pitbulls are bad, mean breeds who like to bite people.' But they're actually not like that at all. They just have to be treated right and not raised to fight and all. Anyway, Gibbs is a great agent and a better man and you better watch his six, 'cause I know he'll watch yours. He takes having a partner very seriously, so you better too. Got it?"

For a moment, Tony just stood frozen with shock and confusion. He had never heard anybody talk that fast or that much in such a short amount of time. He had seen her mouth move but he just couldn't believe she could talk that fast. Unfortunately, Abby was also clearly impatient, and her brows furrowed as she punched him on the arm. "I said, 'You got it?'"

He jumped out of his trance and said in a high-pitched voice, "I got it Abby. Don't worry; I take having a partner very seriously too. I'll do my best to watch his six for as long as he and I are working together."

When she was convinced he was telling the truth, she smiled again and said, "Okay great! And Gibbs already told me he sees something special in you, so I'm sure you'll be around for a long time. Well, as long as you can handle the job and Gibbs, and you don't get hurt."

He swelled with pride and determination at her words and laughed, "Thanks Abby, but I think I'll do just fine."

From that meeting on, Abby and Tony grew close but it had him curious about her. So after he and Gibbs caught the bad guys and closed up their case, Tony had used his new agent status to do a little digging. But as Tony sat at his new desk in the middle of the night, staring at his computer with complete shock, he really wished he had just minded his own business. He'd already gone through Morrow's and Abby's backgrounds and seen nothing too unbelievable there. It was Gibbs' that shocked him. Not all of it; he'd already known about him being a Marine ("there's no such thing as an ex-Marine," Gibbs had said) and his ex-wives. What he didn't know was he'd been divorced three times, married four. Four! Gibbs' first wife was named Shannon. And they'd had a daughter! Kelly. And they had been murdered! By a man named Pedro Hernandez. Well he personally didn't do it, but he'd hired someone to kill the driver of their car while they were under protection detail. Shannon and Kelly had died when the car went out of control and crashed.

This didn't exactly shock Tony; he could tell Gibbs was a man of many secrets, a bit of a mystery. Tony was incredibly sad for his Boss, though, for having to go through that. If Tony had stopped there, he would've only gained some new information, but he kept going. He went from page to page, deeper and deeper into the event, seeing that Gibbs had been under investigation at one point, until finally he found a news article that said that Hernandez had been killed while driving his truck home from the market by a bullet to the head. The killer was unknown; it was a cold case. Tony wasn't stupid; he could put two and two together, and he did. He'd read about Gibbs being a sniper. Gibbs didn't seem like a killer. Sure, he killed bad guys on the job and enemies when he was a Marine, but this was different. Gibbs had killed Pedro Hernandez. In cold blood. To get revenge.

Tony didn't know how that made him feel other than astonished at first. He knew he should feel horrified that his partner had killed someone like he did. He should be disgusted that Gibbs was a cop, sworn to protect, yet he'd murdered someone. But he wasn't. In the short time he and Gibbs had known each other, Tony had already formed a bond with the gray-haired man. Tony trusted him, and he was pretty sure Gibbs trusted him too. Not with his secrets, but Tony wasn't planning on telling Gibbs any of his own either. No, they trusted with their lives. Tony trusted Gibbs to guide him, protect him, train him; Gibbs trusted Tony to learn in his footsteps, protect his six, and do his job. It might be a little soon to say, but Tony felt that he and Gibbs may even be friends. It was the beginnings of a friendship anyway. So why, with Tony finding out what was probably Gibbs' deepest, darkest secret, did he still see his Boss as his mentor, friend, and hero?

Tony shook his head. He'd seen enough for tonight. Knowing Gibbs' secret would be his secret to the grave if necessary. He would never betray Gibbs by telling anyone, nor would he invade Gibbs' privacy by asking him about it. He also wasn't going to avoid him because of what he'd found out. Hell, Tony couldn't even blame Gibbs for doing it. He couldn't honestly say that he wouldn't do the same thing if someone had killed the ones he loved. If there ever came a time when the older man trusted Tony enough to talk about Shannon and Kelly and/or killing Hernandez, then Tony would willingly and happily listen. Another thing was certain, Tony wasn't going anywhere.

And by the next morning, when he'd come into work to see Gibbs sitting there, waiting for him with a cup of coffee just the way he liked it so they could brief the director together, Tony knew his view of the man, their bond, and his hopes for belonging as Gibbs' Second in Command hadn't changed. It never would. It would only grow stronger and deeper. So while Tony was working on some paperwork later that day, he'd taken out his notebook and written down, "_Gibbs' Quirk Number 4:_ _divorced three times but married four… and other secrets."_


	3. Gibbs' Quirk Number 12

Disclaimer: I own nothing! Nada! Just this story

Note: may be OOC, includes male/male sex, be warned. Enjoy!

~~~~~NCIS~~~~~

Tony had seen or heard of it happening only a few times before: Gibbs accepting physical contact of a more personal nature. Otherwise known as a hug. He had seen him hug Abby a few times, like really hug her back instead of just letting her hug him. Two of those times had been after Kate died and after she'd been shot at by Ari, another had been after he'd come back from his coma, and another time had been after Maddie Tyler had been taken. He didn't know all the details but he knew he had hugged Ziva after she'd helped him get his memory of the team back in the hospital. He'd hugged Ducky after they'd rescued him from that crazy mother and her son who tried to kill him and after they had made up for the way Gibbs had left when he'd retired. But that had pretty much been it.

Tony had wanted so badly to hug Gibbs after Kate had died, but he'd decided not to out of fear that it would be too weird. He'd also wanted to hug Gibbs after the whole Jeanne thing had gone up in smoke because that's when he realized why he'd chosen NCIS over Jeanne. He thought he loved her, but their whole relationship was founded on lies. When he finally had to confess the lie, he'd hurt not only her but himself. Then she left; she was gone, and Tony was left to his thoughts. He could've gone after her, but he didn't want to. He could've let Ziva call McGee and tell him to put a BOLO out on her, but he didn't. And as he sat in her empty apartment, the one they'd spent so much time in just being with each other and making love, holding the letter with "You have to chose." written in it, he thought over why it was he didn't want to go after her. The more he pondered it, the more he realized it was because of Gibbs and his family at NCIS.

Of course, there was a part of him that truly loved her and did want to know if the mess could be fixed. But then he remembered all the things Gibbs had done for him, all that they had gone through together. Gibbs had saved his life and Tony had saved his many times over. He'd fought hard to find a cure for Tony when he'd gotten the plague. He considered Tony his loyal Saint Bernard. And Tony thought the world of him. Gibbs hadn't even been mad about him being undercover. Well, he'd been mad at the Director, but not at Tony; Tony he'd instantly forgiven. Gibbs had apparently been devastated when they thought he'd died when his car exploded and nearly killed Kort for threatening him. Tony had passed on the promotion because he'd been unwilling to leave Gibbs and his family behind. He'd chosen them then and he would choose them, him now. He would always choose Gibbs because he realized, like a smack to the face, that he loved Gibbs, was in love with Gibbs. That realization was not what Tony was expecting. As he drove around aimlessly for the next few hours, he made a list of pros and cons both for following Jeanne and staying with Gibbs. How could he choose between two loves?

Then they'd gotten that case with the kidnapped baby. The man and wife had hired that girl to have their baby, but the girl and her boyfriend were planning on running away with the baby. At the end of the case, when the baby was returned, Tony had walked in to the living room dripping wet from the sprinkler to see the family on one side of the room and HIS family (Gibbs, Ziva, and Tim) on the other. He looked from one to the other, feeling slightly lost for some reason, until McGee spoke to him in a kind voice, "Here ya go Tony," and smiled at him as the fireplace lit up. Tony gratefully went to crouch by the fire to warm up his wet body while the two parties continued to talk. As he looked at the happy couple and their baby, he remembered Jeanne, how they could've been if things were different. He pulled the letter out of his coat and read it for the gazillionth time since he'd found it. He looked up one last time. The couple looked at each other and their baby with a world of love and trust, and he knew. He and Jeanne would never be that way. There would never be complete love and trust between them. Not now. He looked at his team, and they looked at him. All three were smiling at him with their own form of love and trust. McGee loved Tony as a brother and a friend; Ziva loved Tony as a friend and maybe a little more. They both trusted him completely, no matter what. As Tony looked into Gibbs' eyes though, he saw them shine with a kind of love he wanted. Tony knew how much Gibbs trusted him. His mouth twitched at them before he turned back to the letter. He read it one last time, and, upon feeling no hesitation on his decision, he placed it in the fire. He chosen his family, and it wasn't with her. So Tony stood up, joined his family as he squeezed the water from his tie, and smiled at them, feeling like he belonged as they smiled right back at him.

For the next several months, Tony focused on healing his broken heart, figuring out his feelings for Gibbs, and spending time with his family. And after the whole being accused of murdering La Grenouille and telling Jeanne that nothing was real disaster passed, things slowly went back to normal for him. He went out on regular outings with Ziva, McGee, Abby, Palmer, and Ducky and went to Gibbs' once a week. Tony was sure of his love for Gibbs and was also pretty sure it was reciprocal. Things were going good for them and he'd planned on making his move.

Then Jenny was killed and everything went wrong. Vance was made Director, and he wasn't even Director for 24 hours when he'd unexpectedly broken the team up. Ziva was sent back to Israel, McGee down to Geek Unit, and Tony as an Agent Afloat. He was shocked and devastated and knew everyone else was too. All of them, Abby, Palmer, Ducky, McGee, Ziva, and Gibbs, slowly said goodbye to one another, not knowing if it would be the last time they saw each other in person. It was heart breaking. Abby sobbed; Palmer cried silently; Ducky tried to keep them positive; McGee and Ziva looked lost and sad; Tony wanted to cry but refused to and tried to joke around about needing McGee's sea sickness pills; Gibbs just watched them as if he didn't know what was happening or what to do. Tony knew it was because Gibbs felt like it was his job to protect them all but he obviously couldn't protect them all if they were all over the world. Tony had wanted nothing more than to spend his last night sobbing and holding on to Gibbs, but he couldn't.

All the months spent being an Agent Afloat were lonely and boring. He missed his family more than anything, ached for them, especially Gibbs. He hated Vance with a passion. He hated himself too. He felt that if he had only saved Jenny, then none of this would've happened. He'd be at home in D.C., with his family, where he belonged. He attempted to stay in touch with them, and heard about the mole problem, but it didn't help. When he finally saw Ziva and Gibbs again, he felt ready to explode with joy. Working with them by his side was like pieces of the puzzle falling back together. He didn't think he could be happier. That is until Gibbs looked at him with bright, happy eyes and told him to get his things.

"Home?" Tony said, not believing his ears.

"Home," Ziva said it as a promise.

Not being able to contain his excitement, he turned around and took off, "Home!" he shouted, "I'm going home!"

Later in the squadroom, with his family (minus Gibbs and Abby) gathered around him as he told them stories of the not-so-bad moments of his journey on the ship, he knew Gibbs was up with Vance, probably fighting to keep Tony. When Gibbs finally came down, he seemed pissed and depressed as he attempted to explain the Director's lack of understanding. Then Abby came running at him and shouting as she attacked him with a hug. When he confirmed out loud that he was staying for real, the happiness in the room was palpable. Tony watched as Gibbs and the Director shared a look before Gibbs smiled at him, making Tony's insides melt. It was obviously they wanted to embrace but Abby was in the way, so Gibbs settled with a handshake. Tony was never so glad to have his family all together again.

A few hours later, everyone finally parted and went home, agreeing they needed rest. Gibbs didn't know it, but Tony had caught him looking his way with a pained expression before heading to the elevator and going home. It took a little longer to get Abby off of him and convince Palmer to take him to Gibbs', but finally he was at his Boss' door. He hesitated only a moment, before opening the door or walking in. As if in slow motion, Tony went to the basement door and descended the stairs. When he looked up Gibbs was watching him as if waiting.

Tony paused at the bottom of the stairs before rushing to Gibbs and embracing him. Gibbs immediately wrapped his arms around Tony's waist and squeezed him tight to his chest. Tony closed his eyes and nuzzled into Gibbs' neck, inhaling the scent he'd almost forgotten. As he felt Gibbs' hand clench his shirt as if afraid Tony would disappear/be sent away again, he pressed a soft kiss on his neck. Tony was pleased when Gibbs instantly relaxed and seemed to melt into him. "I've missed you so much Tony," Gibbs whispered, "I'm so glad you're home."

Tony pulled away only to look into the blue eyes that were swimming in unspoken emotions. "I missed you too Gibbs. So fricken much," Tony said back.

Gibbs wasted no more time and surged forward so he could press his lips to Tony's. Tony instantly kissed him back, his stomach flipping, heart racing, and a wave of happiness, peace, and belonging swelling through him. They held onto each other tightly as the kiss' passion flared and they unleashed all their pent up emotions. They didn't need to say it to know the other was as in love as he was, but Tony said it anyway. "I. Love. You. Gibbs," he said between kisses.

"I. Love. You. Tony," Gibbs answered back.

They kissed until they needed to breathe. Tony felt that kissing Gibbs was more important, more enjoyable than breathing, but they'd only just begun, and there was no way Tony was going to die without having all his time with Gibbs. When they pulled apart, they rested their foreheads together. The air between them was thick with the love they felt. They both knew they had some talking to do, but now they were both content just to hold each other. Finally, Gibbs spoke, his voice full of regret, "I'll drive you home?"

He said it as a question. Tony could tell Gibbs wanted him to stay, and was only offering incase that wasn't what Tony wanted. Tony rapidly shook his head, the thought of leaving Gibbs being the complete opposite of what he wanted as well. "I wanna stay," He said just to re-enforce the reason behind his head shake. Then he grabbed Gibbs face and looked at him with his softest, most loving look (not that it was hard), "Take me to bed Gibbs. Let's make love. Please?"

Wanting to give Tony everything he wanted, he led Tony by the hand up to the available bedroom. Slowly and gently, they raised each other up until finally Gibbs lubed up his fingers and began stretching Tony's hole. Tony moaned at the new sensation. Gibbs entered with one finger first, then two, then three and four. "Gibbs! Please! Need you. Need your cock!" Tony gasped.

When Gibbs' cock finally entered him, Tony moaned louder than ever before and grasped onto Gibbs. He watched as Gibbs slowly and gently pushed in until he was balls deep. When he was, he paused and Tony took the opportunity to kiss him fiercely. Gibbs groaned into the kiss and slowly started moving. He kept a slow, gentle pace until Tony panted in his ear, "Take me Gibbs. Make me come."

Gibbs thrusted as fast and hard as he could, making sure to hit Tony's prostate every time. Tony threw back his head and moaned like crazy. He moved his hips to match Gibbs' thrusts. He was so close, and he could tell Gibbs was too. What did him in was when Gibbs whispered in his ear, "Come for me Tony. I love you."

Tony's whole body tensed, his back arched, his muscles clamped around Gibbs' dick as he came in waves. Gibbs followed not too far behind him, his juices filling up Tony's hole and oozing out the sides. When the older man collapsed, Tony caught him and stroked his hair as they came down from their highs. He kissed Gibbs' sweaty forehead and licked the taste from his lips. After a few minutes, Gibbs got out of bed and went to get a wet wash cloth. He wiped the juices from their bodies, threw the washcloth away, and climbed back into bed. He snuggled against Tony's side, resting his head on Tony's chest, listening to his heartbeat. Tony never felt happier as he fell asleep with Gibbs in his arms.

The next morning when Gibbs dropped Tony off at his apartment to grab clothes before work. He grabbed enough to stay with Gibbs for a couple of days so they could make up time. Then Gibbs went to Stillwater, his hometown. Tony had seen the way Gibbs had tensed, the way his eyes revealed how much he was dreading going. He sent his lover a reassuring smile and couldn't believe he had to stay behind. When McGee and Ziva told them that Gibbs had a father, Tony was immediately both excited and nervous. He would be meeting his lover's father. What would happen?

When Tony and Abby got there, he saw how tense and frustrated his lover was. He had to wait a while, but when they were finally alone, Tony enveloped Gibbs in a hug. The minute his arms went around Tony, he relaxed with a sigh. Tony held him and rubbed his back soothingly. When they heard someone coming, they pulled apart. Gibbs gave Tony a soft smile, silently telling him 'thank you'. Tony just smiled back and went back to work on the case. Later that night, Gibbs told Jackson about being in love with Tony, and Jackson had welcomed Tony into the family, giving him a sweatshirt to keep him warm and as a gift. Gibbs and Tony hugged each other, silently sharing their joy and relief. When Tony went to Jackson's guest bedroom to get ready for bed, Tony pulled out his notebook to write the newest Quirk. '_Gibbs Quirk Number 12: probably won't admit it, but hugs actually help sometimes.'_


	4. Gibbs' Quirks Numbers 1 and 2

Disclaimer: still not mine!

Note: Hope y'all like it even though it's short and pathetic. Lol. This one is heavily based on Gibbs and Tony's first meeting and the start of them working together. Includes some stuff that was in the episode 'Baltimore' from season 8. This is the start of the Gibbs' Quirks list.

~~~~~NCIS~~~~~

When Tony first met Gibbs that day in Baltimore, he obviously had had no idea what he was getting into. The man was just short of a nightmare. He was bossy, devious, a smart-ass, and, quite frankly, kind of a bastard. And yet, there was just something about him that screamed authority, protection, guidance, and self-confidence. Tony didn't know what gave him that impression exactly, nor why he believed it to be true. The bad stuff really is easier to believe after all, and in Gibbs-terms, the bad stuff seemed to override the good stuff. To everyone else, that was clear. But not to Tony; Tony saw past that stuff to the side that was less obvious.

Tony knew Danny didn't like him, had openly spoken out against his smart-ass, bastard-like qualities. And for some reason that bothered him. For some reason, he was pissed that Danny passed judgment so quickly on the silver-haired man like that. Danny didn't even know him! Then again, neither did Tony. But he wanted to; he wanted to know Gibbs a lot more than he'd ever wanted to know anyone before. For that reason, he was all too willing to work with Gibbs on their joint case after Tony had tackled him to the ground thanks to his tube socks. It felt normal working alongside Gibbs, as if he'd been doing it all along. Without really even meaning to, Tony found himself trusting Gibbs to an extent. Not in the way he would come to trust Gibbs, but still Tony instinctively knew Gibbs was a good man, a trustworthy man despite his bastardness. So when Tony's world fell apart and he found out his partner, the man he had come to consider his best and most trusted friend, was dirty, he followed Gibbs' order to meet him at NCIS the next day.

When he met the man in D.C., he didn't have any second guesses about confiding in his Gibbs his thoughts and feelings. "Maybe being a cop just isn't for me," Tony sighed sadly. Only to cringe with surprise and pain as a slap was administered to the back of his head. He laughed and looked up and down the hallway and said in disbelief, "Did you just physically assault me?"

"I don't have a lot of rules," Gibbs said as if Tony hadn't spoke after the slap, "Rule number 5 is you don't waste good. You're good."

'Rules?' Tony thought to himself, 'What's he talking about rules?'. But he moved on, "Thanks." Then he rubbed the back of his head. "Don't make a habit of that," he said with a smile. Of course, he didn't know that the headslap would become a regular thing from now on, so he just watched Gibbs with confusion and curiosity as the man patted him on the face with a gentle smile and then pointed behind him. Tony followed his finger and turned around. On the door behind him was the words 'Human Resources'. Tony smiled. Gibbs was offering him a job here? There was no doubt in Tony's mind about jumping on that opportunity. He suddenly knew that Gibbs had planned this from the beginning, somehow knowing Tony would say yes. He looked to Gibbs as he was walking away and called, "Did I mention you're a devious man Gibbs?"

Gibbs just chuckled and kept walking, "'Boy, I got vision and the rest of the world is wearing bifocals.'"

Tony knew Gibbs was perfect right then and there as his new partner. Quoting a movie, how great is that? Tony's smile grew, "Butch Cassidy. Nice!" Then he opened the door and walked in to see an attractive women at the desk. He put on the charm and got to work applying to be an NCIS Agent.

The next two weeks, Tony learned all the ropes to being, not only an federal agent, but Gibbs' partner. It was shocking to everyone how they seemed to instantly click and work well together, but Tony knew they had a long way to go. He and Gibbs trained in the gym every day as Gibbs taught him some moves. Gibbs gave him a tour. It was a silent tour with only a few words coming out of his mouth, but a tour nonetheless, filled with Tony asking questions and commenting on the hideous orange walls. But it was clear that there were two things that were the most important lessons to be learned.

One. The rules. Gibbs hadn't been kidding when he told he had rules. Though, he'd said he didn't have a lot. Tony was pretty sure 45 rules was considered a lot (since that's all there were at the time)! And Gibbs expected him to know them all. He remembered the first day they trained together in the gym. Gibbs had pulled out his knife from his pocket and said, "Know how to throw a knife?"

Tony shook his head, knowing now was not a good time for a movie reference.

Gibbs' stare hardened and he said, "Rule 9 is 'never go anywhere without a knife'. Got it?"

"Wait! You really have like an entire list of rules? I just thought you had a couple. How many are there?" Tony looked at him with wide eyes.

Gibbs sighed in exasperation and said, "About 45 and still going."

Tony's mouth gaped and his eyes bugged. He was sure to anyone that was watching besides Gibbs would've thought it looked comical. "You said there weren't a lot! You want me to memorize them all?" He exclaimed.

Gibbs gave him a glare that said, "Duh. Of course I do. Otherwise I wouldn't tell them to you in the first place."

Tony was daunted by that task but was determined to make Gibbs proud and prove himself by learning his rules. He nodded and took a deep breath before saying, "Rule 9: always carry a knife. Got it."

Gibbs nodded once, seemly pleased that Tony was willing to learn the rules that framed his life, and continued his lesson in teaching Tony how to use a knife.

Two, he learned pretty quickly as well. The headslaps. It became a regular occurance after that first time, unfortunately for Tony. Whenever Gibbs caught him slacking in his work or flirting with a woman or making a movie reference, he would slap the back of Tony's head. At first, it made Tony feel mad and disrespected. So Tony confronted him. Gibbs had just headslapped him for flirting, so he followed Gibbs back to their desks before growling, "Why do you do that?"

Gibbs looked at him as if he didn't know what Tony was talking about.

"You could just TELL me to stop. You don't have to slap me."

Gibbs got right up in Tony's face and said quietly, "The slap to the back of your head is a wake-up call DiNozzo. Otherwise I'd never get your attention."

"You haven't tried it!" Tony snarled.

Gibbs just shrugged, "Fine" then sat in his desk and continued working. But then over the next few days, Tony would catch himself doing too many things wrong. He flirted too much, spoke too much about movies, didn't pay attention, all the stuff that Gibbs used to headslap him for, and he realized something. The headslaps weren't a form of disrespect; they were discipline. Without them, Tony didn't do his best because he knew he wouldn't get punished for it. And, if he didn't become the best he could be, he would not only disappoint NCIS and himself, but Gibbs too. Begrudgingly, Tony realized he missed the headslaps that got him back on track. So four days after Gibbs had stopped slapping him, Tony went in to work and approached Gibbs' desk. When Gibbs looked up at him expectantly, Tony mumbled, "I'm sorry. I was wrong. You were right. I do need the headslaps."

Gibbs smiled his half smile at him and said with a smirk, "Rule 6 is 'never apologize. It's a sign of weakness.'"

Tony knew he was forgiven so he smiled and repeated, "Rule 6, never apologize, sign of weakness." Then he went to his own desk and got to work. Thinking of all he'd been learning, he realized he might not remember it all. If Gibbs really did have 45 rules, then Tony was gonna have to write them down. So he pulled out a notebook and wrote down the ones he knew so far. Then he realized he may need more help. Along the blank sides of the paper, Tony wrote, "_Note to self: Gibbs is going to be tough to work with, but it'll be worth it to deal with all his quirks."_

That's when it came to him. If he was gonna write down the list of Gibbs' Rules, he should write down all the things he noticed about Gibbs, his quirks. Surely, it might help to better understand and deal with the older man right? So Tony flipped past a few pages in the notebook and started a new list that he would update almost as often as he would The Gibbs' Rules list. He called it The Gibbs' Quirks.

"_Gibbs' Quirk Number 1: has a set of rules by which he lives by. Learn them well. (Very Important)_

_Gibbs' Quirk Number 2: uses slaps to the back of the head a.k.a. 'headslaps' as a form of discipline, not disrespect."_


	5. Gibbs' Quirk Number 17

Disclaimer: words words and more words that are the same

Note: this one's got some of the friendship between Tony and McGee. It includes some Tibbs sexy-fun-time. So if that's not you're thing, don't read!

~~~~~NCIS~~~~~

Tony and Gibbs had been together for three weeks now, three wonderful, blissful weeks. They had been spending most of their free time together. Tony had to keep up with being social with the gang so they wouldn't grow suspicious. It wasn't that they didn't want the team to know about them; they just wanted some time just to be alone together before the team started asking questions and whatnot. Though they could both tell that Ducky was suspicious after he'd caught them sharing a loving look. Although Tony felt bad that the team wasn't privy to this very important development in their lives, he really did enjoy just having Gibbs all to himself. He was just starting to figure out how Gibbs was while in a relationship, and he really liked it.

Three weeks after that first night, Tony was sitting at his desk after their latest case. He was still putting it back the way he liked it, before Langer had messed it all up. He was meeting up with McGee for dinner in a bit so long as they didn't get a case. Ziva too was at her desk, emailing her mystery dude that she'd obviously met when she went back to Israel. McGee and Gibbs had just come back from MTAC with the director, where they had been giving their own expertise for whatever the Director was doing, when Gibbs told them to go home.

"Ready Probie?" Tony asked as he packed up his stuff.

Before McGee respond, Ziva interjected, "Ready for what?"

"Tony and I are going to dinner," McGee smiled at her as he came to stand by Tony.

"McGeek needs all the bro-time he can get Zeevah," Tony added, "I'm gonna be his wingman tonight."

Ziva rolled her eyes, "Tim, you are good-looking. Surely, you must be capable of picking up women all on your own?"

Before McGee could say anything, Tony said, "Well sure he's good-looking Ziva. But it's more about skill then looks. If he just-" he was cut off by a headslap so hard it could be heard from across the room. "Ow!" he turned to glare at Gibbs, "What was that for?"

Gibbs just glared back, flicking his eyes to McGee once then resting them back on Tony with a hard stare. Tony's eyes widened as he realized Gibbs didn't appreciate Tony calling Tim "good-looking". He suddenly smiled and said, "Don't worry so much Boss. I won't get McGee into any trouble or anything. He doesn't know all my moves." hoping Gibbs would understand the hidden message under the words.

Gibbs' glare softened a bit, and he nodded once before leaving. Tony watched him go, wishing he could follow him, but turned to McGee who was giving him an odd look. "So where do ya wanna go tonight Probie?"

All through dinner, McGee and Tony talked about everything from their latest case to their annoying neighbors to who they thought Ziva's new man could be. Eventually, McGee blurted, "So what was with Gibbs before?"

Tony stilled, "Whatchya mean Probie?"

McGee lifted one eyebrow, "He headslapped you because he was jealous you called me good-looking." It wasn't a question.

Tony stayed silent, for once at a loss for words.

"Are you two… together? Or something?" Tim asked.

Tony was still frozen silent.

"If you are, it's totally okay with me Tony. You're like my brother. I don't care if you're with Gibbs. I mean, sure it's kind of weird only because he's Gibbs, ya know? And he's our boss. But if you're gonna be with any guy there's no one better than him. You two are good for each other. You should tell me if you are though," McGee smiled at him openly.

Finally, Tony relaxed and smiled, "Yah Tim. Me and Gibbs are together."

Tim's head tilted as Tony seemed to brighten at the confession, "It's not just sex either is it?"

Tony's smile grew and his eyes softened as he shook his head.

McGee could tell just by the look on his friend's face that Tony was in love with their boss. He was happy for them and knew Tony deserved to be in a relationship where true love existed. He decided he was glad Tony told him that much and moved on to the next subject.

When Tony got home a few hours later than usual, he realized he was happy that McGee knew about him and Gibbs as he kicked off his shoes and headed toward his bedroom. When he turned on the lights, though, he was unprepared to see someone lying on his bed. He jumped and gasped, "Holy shit Gibbs. You scared me."

Gibbs smirked slightly and sat up. As Tony caught his breath and calmed the adrenaline running through his veins, Gibbs just looked at him. Finally Tony asked, "What are you doing here?"

Gibbs shrugged and looked away.

Tony's eyes widened, and he stepped forward until he was right in front of his lover, "Babe, are you blushing?"

Suddenly, Tony's hips were grabbed, and he was forced down to the bed on his back. In an instant Gibbs was on top of him. His normally bright blue eyes were dark with desire as he gazed down at Tony. Tony could see that Gibbs' cheeks were indeed flushed. "Gibbs what's wrong?"

Gibbs shook his head and growled, "Nothing is wrong."

"Then why are you here?" Tony asked again.

Gibbs sighed heavily and blurted, "You called McGee good-looking."

"And?" Tony coaxed.

"I didn't like it. Wanted you to be with me instead of him. So I came here to wait for you."

Touched that Gibbs wanted him so much, Tony lifted his head until his lips touched Gibbs'. Immediately Gibbs kissed him back, but Tony could feel the underlying hesitation. He pulled back and looked up into his lover's eyes. "First of all Gibbs, there's no man or woman better looking than you. You are the most handsome, gorgeous man I've ever seen. When it comes to you, there's just no competition. Second, I love you Gibbs. YOU. There's no one else I want to be with, not ever again. I'm yours and you're mine. Forever," Tony spoke softly yet firmly, wanting Gibbs to know that this was the truth. Gibbs was Tony's first and last true love, and he would never think about being with anyone else ever again.

Tony knew he said the right thing when Gibbs suddenly captured Tony's lips in a searing and passionate kiss. After a few moments of kissing, Tony wasted no time in removing Gibbs' shirt and tossing it on to the floor. Then he used his mouth to press Gibbs up so that he was straddling Tony's lap so he could take off his own shirt with Gibbs' help. As soon as the shirt was out of the way, he latched his mouth on to Gibbs' nipple. Gibbs moaned and gripped Tony's hair in his hands. When Tony was satisfied the nipple was good and hard, he moved to the next one to give it the same treatment. Gibbs pulled Tony's hair as he moaned again and threw his head back. When that one too was hard, he reached up and pulled Gibbs' head so he could kiss him again. He ran his hands down Gibbs back. He was memorizing the muscles, scars, and contours he found there and, as he ran his fingers over one particularly long and rigged scar, he wondered yet again what had created it.

He was distracted just then though by Gibbs rocking his hips and rubbing their still-clothed hard-ons together. Tony gasped loudly into the other man's mouth and then he was gone. Tony whimpered at the loss and opened his eyes. He watched hungrily as Gibbs stripped his pants off then quickly reached for Tony's. Tony lay back so Gibbs had room to rip them off. He licked his lips as his eyes landed on Tony's hard dick. Tony bit his lip as he saw his lover dropped to his knees and leaned in closer. Gibbs moved his eyes up to Tony's as he licked him from his balls to his head. Tony moaned long and heavy, and his cock twitched as it hardened further. Gibbs smirked at the reaction he got and repeated the action over until he reached the head where he licked harder to clean the stream of precum that was now continuously flowing from Tony. Tony began shaking as Gibbs moved his tongue slowly up and down his shaft and around his balls. As he dipped his tongue into the slit at the top, Tony threw his head back with a loud groan, unable to watch anymore without coming. The temptation became even bigger as Gibbs suddenly slid a finger into him and started finger-fucking him. Tony gritted his teeth and held on to the sheets in his fists as he fought the urge to come. When Gibbs added three more fingers, he also wrapped his mouth around Tony's entire cock. "Shit!" Tony shouted as his back arched, "Gibbs! Gibbs! I'm gonna come!"

Gibbs fingers froze and he pulled his mouth off of Tony to order, "Say it Tony! Say it again!"

"I'm yours Gibbs! I'm yours!"

With that, Gibbs swallowed him whole and shoved him deep down his throat. He pumped his fingers in to Tony and pressed on his prostate repeatedly. With a final touch, Gibbs hummed and the vibrations ran up Tony's dick and into him. With a loud roar, Tony's back arched as far as it could and he shot his load into Gibbs' throat. Tony was dimly aware of Gibbs licking him clean and then climbing on top of him to kiss him gently. Tony sighed as he tasted himself on Gibbs' tongue. Then Gibbs pulled away and lay down next to him, resting his head on Tony's shoulder and draping one arm across his stomach. He felt his lover's still-hard dick pressing into him and asked weakly, "What about you?"

Gibbs just shook his head, "It can wait. I got what I wanted. You to say you were mine."

"I'll say it every day for the rest of my life," Tony promised.

Gibbs kissed the skin nearest to him before saying, "Sleep now Tone."

Tony didn't need to be told twice, but just before he fell into unconsciousness, he made a mental note of another Gibbs' Quirk. '_Gibbs' Quirk Number 17: is the jealous type. And I kinda like it._'


	6. Gibbs' Quirk Number 9

Disclaimer: you know the drill

Note: so the idea for this one came to me when season 4's episode "Escaped" came on. I was watching it with my mother who asked me my feelings on Gibbs' retiring and then taking the team back. She thought that Gibbs was a big jerk and that he was forgiven too easily. I think that there are a lot of people who feel that way too. So in explanation to my opinion, I wrote this part and added a Gibbs' Quirk to it. The quirk is a little longer than the others but I felt that it needed to be. Besides the Gibbs' Rules vary in size. Like Rule 45 is simple (Clean up your own mess) while Rule 4 is fairly long (Best way to keep a secret? Keep it to yourself. Second best? Tell one other person, if you must. There is no third best.) Anyway, so maybe y'all can guess my opinion on the matter by this chapter? Enjoy!

~~~~~NCIS~~~~~

Tony's heart was breaking. That was the only way to describe the incredible pain he was feeling as he and Ziva process the scene of the explosion. He was confused, terrified, and lost. His boss, his mentor, his friend, Gibbs, had just been nearly blown to pieces in their search for Pinpin Pula and was currently in the hospital in a coma. He may or may not survive, and the only thing Tony could do was his job. It wasn't that he didn't want to find the SOB who put the bomb on the ship in the first place; he just couldn't stop thinking about how he would handle it if Gibbs never woke up from his coma. He wanted to be there by Gibbs' side; he owed Gibbs everything, and he wanted to be there to fight for and with him now. But he couldn't. Not just because of his job but because McGee and Abby were expecting him to be the leader now, to be the light in the dark tunnel, to find the answers of why and how this happened. Ziva needed it too though she didn't act like it. He knew her non-concerned attitude was merely a shield from the reality that was in front of her. He knew she loved Gibbs; they shared a bond that Tony could only guess at. And he knew that if she were to think about Gibbs hurt, in a coma, with the possibility he might not wake up, she'd break down and that would just be unacceptable in her eyes. So he didn't let it bother him; everyone had their own ways to deal with things. He also had more important things to worry about. An explosion had just gone off, killing one agent and putting the other in the hospital, and there were questions that needed answering. Gibbs would headslap him so hard his head would pop from his body if he didn't focus on that now.

So while Gibbs recovered, Tony and the team filled in the missing pieces and added some new ones. Thanks to Abby's recreation of the explosion, they were able to decipher how the dead body was missing the lower half of his body and how Gibbs managed to survive it; it was somehow comforting knowing Gibbs had had just enough time to take cover. Then Ducky filled in the questions about why the agent was sitting on the bomb, by saying he'd been stuffed in there prior to the explosion. Which gave them the idea that Pinpin had impersonated their agent and Gibbs wouldn't have thought twice about why the guy looked different; they would have all expected him to grow his hair long, make himself all dirty, and do whatever he had to to remain undiscovered. So when they guy took off into the room with the bomb, Gibbs wouldn't have thought twice about following him.

And all while they were finding this out, Tony had to do his best to keep the peace in his team. McGee was off his game, shaken by the whole thing. Ziva was trying her hardest to make everyone think she didn't care and Abby was pissed because of it as well as grief-stricken. When Tim had ran into him, him telling Tony about the slapfight between the two was almost enough to distract Tony from the blood oozing out of his nose as well as what was happening with Gibbs. After all, he was still Tony, and chick fights were hot. And then there was the fact that Gibbs was clearly in pain while in his coma. He had lied to the Director when he'd said he didn't know if he was in pain because he'd never seen Gibbs in pain. He knew pain when he saw it, and he knew Gibbs. He couldn't be sure what exactly was going through his boss' head, but he had pretty good idea. He was sure that Gibbs was remembering Shannon and Kelly in his unconsciousness state; he didn't know of too many other things that would affect the man so deeply. (That was later confirmed when he'd heard the Director and Ducky discussing it and when he'd heard how Gibbs had shouted for Shannon and cried for Kelly.) His gut was also churning violently, making him feel sick. That added to the fact that, as he looked into Gibbs' face as his eye lids fluttered rapidly and the doctor told them he thought that Gibbs wasn't waking up because he didn't want to, was enough to tell Tony that Gibbs was most definitely in pain that was more emotional than physical. He just hadn't said so out loud because he didn't want the Director to worry nor did he want to actually believe it. Then when they got the news that Gibbs had finally woken up, but didn't remember Ducky, which in turn meant he wouldn't remember any of them, Tony's heart broke even further. How could that be possible? Did Team Gibbs just not mean enough to Gibbs that they would be remembered? No, that wasn't fair. Sometimes these things happen; it wasn't Gibbs' fault.

Oh god, why couldn't it be him? Tony wished for the billionth time since this whole mess started that he had been with Gibbs on the ship, that he had been the one to chase after Pinpin, the one to get blown up. Hadn't Gibbs been through enough in his life? From his failed relationships with Jenny and his ex-wives to losing his mother, Shannon and Kelly, and Kate to the hellish things he must've seen during his career as a Marine to his estranged relationship with his father and everything in between, was it really necessary for this to happen? No one deserved this less than Gibbs.

It was a small ray of hope when Director Shepard called in Gibbs' former boss, retired Special Agent Mike Franks, to help him deal with the loss of his memory and hopefully regain it. Tony assumed that if Gibbs and Mike's relationship was anything like Tony and Gibbs' then Franks would be a good choice for that task. Tony wanted to be there with Gibbs now more than ever; he had planned on going after he heard that Gibbs had remembered working with Mike, when Ziva asked him if she could put off her report until she went to see Gibbs. She looked so close to breaking that Tony nodded and let her go.

When Gibbs and Ziva came back to NCIS together, McGee and Tony jumped up in shock and excitement. He'd gotten his memory back. Mostly. It made Tony feel more than a little startled and hurt when Gibbs called him McGee. Then Abby nearly made the always unbendable man stumble from her strong hug, making Tony and Tim move to catch him worriedly. As he ascended the stairs towards MTAC, his eyes landed on the screen and the picture of Pinpin Pula.

"Shoulda known it was Pula," Gibbs reprimanded himself.

"Oh no Boss!" the group spoke to comfort him. Tony said, "I'd have made the same mistake."

Gibbs turned to him with an odd smile and said, "Well yah DiNozzo. That's why I'm so pissed."

Suddenly, all his worries, hurt, and fear went away as Gibbs called him by name. He felt a smile grow on his face. "I knew you couldn't forget me!" he exclaimed.

But the joy was short lived. It was saddening and frustrating to watch Gibbs try to explain what had happened to him in order to save the ship only to lose control and yell at the man onscreen, "Is everyone up there as stupid as you?" because he felt that "an accident at sea was better than an act of terrorism". With that, Gibbs turned and left MTAC as the image of the ship blowing up took over the screen. Tony could understand the rage that had come over their boss; all those lives lost because of the incompetence of one man, all the families that would now have to deal with losing a son, brother, husband, daughter, sister, or wife.

And before Tony had even time to wonder if things would start going back to normal now, the worst thing that could happen did. Gibbs handed him his badge. "It's your team now," he said as he squeezed Tony's shoulder. Tony watched with horror as Gibbs said his goodbyes to the rest of the team before telling Ducky to take him home. Everyone watched like unmoving statues as their boss, friend, hero stepped into the elevator and turned around. "Semper Fi," was all he said as the doors closed.

For what seemed like a long time, they all just stood there. Not seeming to have connection with the rest of their body and being unable and unwilling to get it to move. Then when the complete astonishment was gone, Abby turned with a loud, wordless, agony-filled sob into McGee who immediately wrapped his arms around her, sobbing as well. Ziva sat down at her desk but then continued to stare off into space. Unable to stand being there anymore, Tony left and headed home. It wasn't until he was in the safety of his apartment with his door securely locked behind him did he fall to the floor and sob, the stress of the past few days and the shock and despair of Gibbs leaving being too much for him to handle anymore.

It was a small comfort to know that Gibbs was at least alive, though not exactly well. This job would definitely not be the same without Gibbs to lead them, without Gibbs even being there. But it just didn't seem possible for Tony to even think that Gibbs would never be come back. Even if he didn't come back for the job, he would come back for them, if they needed him. He also liked to think that Gibbs would miss them eventually, would want to see those who had become his family even though at the moment he probably didn't remember everything they'd been through yet.

Tony didn't like it, but he knew this was necessary. Gibbs needed space. He needed the space from the pressures of work and living in the city to deal with his lack of memory, his recovery from the explosion, and the agony that had been drudged up from the memories he had recalled. Gibbs needed to be somewhere where he could just focus on himself for a while and allow his memories to come back as they would. Because if Gibbs were to go back to work immediately after all that had happened, Tony knew it would be a mess, not only for Gibbs but for everyone. Gibbs didn't remember all his experience of being a Special Agent nor of being a Team Leader, which would lead to him being basically a Probie again, and that would just be weird to be Gibbs' "boss". Then there would be the hurt that would inevitably come from Gibbs not remembering this or that, and no one wanted to know that someone they loved forgot them. Gibbs wouldn't want that either.

He'd feel guilty and sad that he was hurting them by not remembering. He might not show it obviously, but he would. And that would probably weaken his progress and healing, because he'd be too worried about upsetting them and not remembering things about them. He'd be worried that he was too impaired while in the field that one of them would get hurt, because of course Gibbs never really cared too much about his own safety. He also knew now that his deepest, darkest secret was out. The whole team knew about Shannon and Kelly though not all of them knew the details behind their deaths. And Tony knew from experience that Gibbs had tried his hardest to keep them a secret. He probably didn't feel comfortable knowing that they all knew about his family now. And all of this would just end up making him quit anyway. Sure, this was painful too for everyone, but it was necessary. Gibbs had been through enough; they could allow him this space and time. That didn't mean Tony would ever let go hope that Gibbs would come back one way or another to be where he belonged; if that miracle were to happen, then Tony would willing accept him back as Team lead, because that would mean their family being whole again. And there was no other way to it.

As Tony finally got up off the floor and moved to his bedroom for some much-needed sleep, another Gibbs' Quirk popped into his head. He quickly got out his notebook before he could forget in his exhausted state and wrote in it, "_Gibbs' Quirk Number 9: despite popular belief, he really does have feelings; he feels very deeply and strongly which is why he chooses to pretend he doesn't, out of self-preservation."_


	7. Gibbs' Quirk Number 25

Disclamier: I still own nothing but this collection of stories

Note: this quirk was inspired by the two part episode that happened the past two weeks (especially the scene where Gibbs hints that he may have had some trouble with PTSD in the past) as well as my sympathy for the "wounded warriors" who come home with PTSD (Post Traumatic Stress Disorder for those who don't know). It's sort of OOC a bit, but I tried to keep it as Gibbish as possible. Also, just wanted to wish those in America a Happy Thanksgiving! I hope you all had a pleasant day and ate some good food. I know that I am stuffed and don't think I'll eat again until next week lol. Enjoy!

~~~~~NCIS~~~~~

At first Tony wasn't sure what woke him exactly. He felt a little groggy. Not just because he was still half-asleep, but because of the Ah-mazing sex he and Gibbs had had the night before. Tony had experienced some of the most intense orgasms of his life. Anyway. He lay in bed for a moment, waiting to hear or feel whatever it was that had woken him from his deep slumber. He kept his eyes closed in order to heighten his hearing (their bedroom was dark anyway) and waited. Then he heard it. An agony-filled, strained cry.

"Gibbs!" Tony gasped as he rocketed out of bed and followed the sound of the horrible noises his lover was making down to the basement, where Tony's left him. He turned the lights on as he went, and flicked the basement's switch on when he reached them. He looked down until he found Gibbs, curled up in a ball, shaking so hard it was visible to Tony across the room, and making these pitiful, scared sounds that Tony never would've thought Gibbs could make. He ran down the stairs and fell to his knees by his lover. "Gibbs!" Tony said loudly as he grabbed his lover. The feel of his touch however caused the man crumpled on the floor to shout in terror and lash out with his fists, clocking Tony right across the face.

The unexpected blow was enough to make Tony fall back on his butt, but he ignored the pain and reached out for Gibbs again. "Jethro! Jet, wake up!" Tony shouted gently. When Gibbs lashed out again, Tony ducked to avoid it and wrapped Gibbs' entire body with his own. Gibbs cried out again and pounded on Tony's back. Tony blocked out the pain and, as gently and lovingly as possible, whispered in his lover's ear, "Jet. It's your Tony. Wake up for me. Your Tony wants to see your amazing blue eyes. Please Jethro. Come back to me."

Suddenly the shaking and whimpering stopped and Tony felt arms wrap around his waist. "Tony?" Gibbs whispered.

"Yes Jethro. It's me. You with me?"

Gibbs hugged him tighter and buried his face into Tony's neck. He was breathing heavily; Tony could feel his wild, erratic heartbeat as if he was about to explode. He was still shaking, but not as violently as before. The nightmare must've been awful for it to have affected Gibbs so deeply. He hugged him tighter and whispered sadly, "Oh Gibbs."

For a while, they held on to each other on the floor of the basement, where'd they'd made crazy, hot love just the night before. When Tony finally felt Gibbs stop shaking and his breathing was calmer, he said quietly, "Let's go up to bed." When Gibbs made no effort to move, just nodding in acknowledgement, Tony sighed and wrapped one arm around Gibbs legs. With a little effort and more strength than he thought he had, Tony lifted Gibbs into his arms. Sure, Gibbs was a couple inches shorter than Tony and maybe a few pounds lighter, but Tony didn't think he could actually carry Gibbs on his own. Gibbs, though, didn't seem to care too much, just moved his grip to Tony's neck and kept his face hidden in Tony's chest. When Gibbs seemed to relaxed in Tony's arms, Tony smiled affectionately into the top of the grey-haired head and found enough motivation to move towards and up the stairs, both flights, and then into their bedroom.

Tony gently placed Gibbs on the bed and then got into the bed next to him. He covered them in the blankets and held Gibbs close. His breathing was mostly normal now, but it wasn't slow and deep so Tony knew he was still awake. After a while, Tony started to calmly pet Gibbs' head and asked again, "You with me Gibbs?"

After a moment, Gibbs nodded. His clutch on Tony never lessened though, worrying Tony greatly. However, he could also sense his lover just needed a little while to calm down from whatever had terrified him in his nightmares, so he stayed silent. As he waited for whatever would happen next, Tony soothingly ran his fingers through the silver hair and kissed the top of his head every once in a while.

Finally, Gibbs spoke, so quietly Tony almost missed it, "I was back in the core. The fighting, the noise, the death, everything just seemed so real. And I couldn't escape."

Tony hugged him tighter and asked gently, "This happen often?"

Gibbs shook his head, "Hasn't in months."

There was a moment of silence before Tony questioned, "I've heard you mention the symptoms of PTSD before. You know them, because you had them. Didn't you?"

For a moment, Gibbs remained unmoving, as if afraid to admit it. Then he nodded and said, "Yah. Was really messed up for years. Not as bad as it could get; mostly I just had nightmares, panic attacks, and problems readjusting to civilian life. Shannon- she would do the best she could to help. Had to see a professional a number of times. Wasn't until after my girls' deaths that it stopped. Probably because my head was so focused on them instead of what I'd seen in combat. Then it came back in the form of nightmares- both about the core and their deaths. It wasn't as bad as before and over the years, they've nearly stopped."

"Do they have triggers?" Tony was curious about whether their bondage play last night had anything to do with Gibbs' nightmares.

"Not usually. A few about Shannon and Kelly I think were caused by some of our cases involving kids; I had one after seeing Stephanie again, and after saving Maddie. Stuff like that."

Tony was relieved that their sex hadn't had any negative effects, but he still felt awful that his lover had to deal with this so many years later. "Can I get you anything?" Tony offered kindly, wanting to show Gibbs that he could help him and be there for him too, "Coffee? Water? A snack? A warm blanket?"

Gibbs chuckled lightly and squeezed Tony tighter as he said, "No thanks Tone." Gibbs turned his head so that he could rest his chin on Tony's chest and look up at him. But as soon as Gibbs' shiny blue eyes fell on Tony's face, he frowned and sat up. He started to reach out but then dropped his hand. "Did I do that?" he whispered.

Tony had forgotten the punch he'd taken. He reached up with his hand to try and see how bad it was, but as soon as his hand touched the now-swollen area on his cheekbone, it shouted with pain. He flinched but managed to hold in the gasp of pain that was at the back of his throat. Not wanting Gibbs to feel guilty, he dropped his hand and smiled as best he could, "It barely even hurts. Don't worry about it."

But Gibbs had seen the grimace and wasn't fooled by Tony's game. His blue eyes widened with guilt and self-loathing and, like a shot, he was off the bed and heading downstairs. A few moments later, he returned with a frozen bag of peas. He sat down by Tony and gently held the cold package to Tony's face. Tony placed his hand over the one holding the bag and squeezed, wanting Gibbs to look at him. When sad blue eyes finally met determined green ones, Tony said, "Gibbs. It's okay. Really, I'm fine."

But Gibbs looked away and shook his head, "I don't want to hurt you. Not again."

"You didn't." At Gibbs' glare, Tony gave in, "Okay, so ya punched me. You weren't even aware that it was me, and I probably shouldn't have tried to grab you like I did. I've taken a worse beating before." Gibbs still didn't look convinced but he didn't look away again, so Tony sat up and leaned in real close to Gibbs' face and said gently, "I don't blame you so, please, you can't either. Okay?"

After a few long minutes, Gibbs finally sighed heavily in defeat and nodded, "Okay. Love you."

Tony smiled broadly. He would never get tired of hearing Gibbs say he loved him. He gently touched Gibbs face and said, "I love you too" before bringing their lips together. The kiss wasn't meant to do anything but let the other know just how much love he felt. When they finally parted, they rested their foreheads together and Tony said, "Why don't I go put the peas back in the freezer and then we can go back to sleep, huh?"

"I'll do it. You get comfortable," he stood up and started to walk to the door. Then he turned around, came back, and kissed Tony one more time. When he released him, Gibbs said, "Thank you for saving me from my nightmare."

It was said with so much meaning that Tony felt beyond blessed to have been allowed to see this side of Gibbs, the not-so-strong, slightly-damaged side that still had nightmares about his years as a Marine. Tony didn't even want to think about the man he loved being in so much pain, but it was just how things were. He was glad that at least Gibbs was better than he used to be and didn't have too many nightmares anymore. However, for the ones that would come along, Tony knew that he would stop at nothing to be there for Gibbs, because he loved Gibbs and not being there just wasn't an option. Gibbs needed him. He probably wouldn't say so out loud, but he did. And Tony needed him too. He smiled loving up at Gibbs and said, "You're welcome."

When Gibbs turned and left, Tony reached into the dresser drawer and pulled out his notebook. He flipped to a page and quickly wrote down, "_Gibbs' Quirk Number 25: had and still has a symptom of PTSD (nightmares)."_


	8. Gibbs' Quirk Number 16

Disclaimer: blah blah blah

Note: Hope everyone in America had a good Thanksgiving and Black Friday once again. I know I dropped after I worked nearly all day Friday, but I made lots of monies so I was happy lol. Here's the next quirk for y'all. And for anyone who has read my other story 'Hidden Behind A Mask…', I know I haven't posted with that for a bit. I hit a bit of writers block. If anyone has any ideas for that, I'll take them gratefully! (:

~~~~~NCIS~~~~~

"So you think you'll be done soon?" the voice of the man he loved asked on the other end of the phone conversation.

Tony could help but swell with happiness and smiled at his lover's slightly whiny voice. "I think so. They'd have been done already if I'd just listened to you and worn my coat out into the cold. Then I wouldn't have gotten the damn cold in the first place and had to go sleep off the damn head and body aches that came with it down in Abby's lab," Tony grumbled in answer to his lover's question.

"Ya think DiNozzo?" was the usual sarcastic Gibbs remark, but Tony could hear the smile hidden behind the words.

Tony chuckled, "You can't see me right now, but I'm totally sticking my tongue out at you."

Gibbs snorted lightheartedly, "Just get your work done so you can come over loverboy." With that, the older man hung up, leaving Tony to laugh and roll his eyes. Not even the fact that they were together now could keep Gibbs from hanging up on Tony whenever he wanted.

God, he still couldn't believe he was actually WITH Gibbs, and it had been going so well. Gibbs wasn't what he'd expected. Not better exactly, just different. And he was sure there would be more surprises to come. It was nice. Tony smiled as he remembered for the billionth time the night after he'd finally come home to stay from being an Agent Afloat and all the days in between. Tony found that he was blissfully and hopelessly in love with his boss, and he didn't care that everyone would think he was crazy for feeling so.

Suddenly, he realized he was losing himself in his thoughts. He shook his head and told himself, "Alright DiNozzo. Focus. Get this done, THEN think about your sexy, gorgeous, talented- no! Focus! Paperwork. Then play."

"Who are you talking to?" a sudden voice asked. Tony looked up to see Director Vance standing by his desk, looking at him with a combination of confusion, concern, and dislike.

Tony recovered quickly and cleared his throat before saying, "Myself Director. Trying to stay focused on my work and sometimes talking to myself helps."

One of Vance's eyebrows lifted as he smirked, "Instead of thinking about someone special?"

Tony froze. He and Gibbs hadn't discussed it, but it was a given that Vance would have to be kept out of the know with their relationship even after the rest of the team knew. It was obvious Vance didn't like Tony and butted heads as much as possible with Gibbs. Knowing that they were together- well, surely the toothpick-chewing man would find some reason to break them up, fire them, reassign them, do something just to piss them off and make things hard for them. Tony didn't know how much the Director had heard, but surely there was no way he'd know that the "someone special" was Gibbs. Right?

Tony put on his smoothest smile, "Yes sir. I'm in quite deep for once. I'm sure you know what that feels like Sir." Tony motioned with his eyes to the ring on his finger.

Vance half-smiled and admitted, "Yes, I do. Well get back to work DiNozzo. Wouldn't want to keep her waiting." With that, he continued walking towards the elevator.

"No sir. I wouldn't. You have a goodnight," Tony said as respectfully as possible.

Vance got in the elevator and left. Tony sighed in relief and went back to work, trying not think about his awkward conversation with Vance or his excitement of going home to Gibbs. He technically wasn't living with Gibbs, but he spent enough time there that it sure seemed like it. The grey-haired man's house was quickly becoming home to him, and he hated to leave it when he did to go to his own apartment. Maybe someday in the near future he'd talk to Gibbs about living with him. Tony sighed dreamily as he thought about living permanently with Gibbs. Then remembered his work again and got back to work.

Almost three hours later, Tony finally pulled his car into Gibbs' driveway next to his Ford F-250. He saw that the lights were on in the living room and knew the man was waiting for him there. Tony smiled and quickly got of his car. Knowing the door would be unlocked as always, he went in without warning. He shed himself of his shoes and coat and tossed his keys onto the table by the door like Gibbs did. As he turned the corner to enter the living room however, he stopped short at the sight in front of him. Sitting on the floor between the couch and the coffee table, with the fire roaring in the fireplace, was Leroy Jethro Gibbs. What made him pause was the huge pile of candy and candy wrappers on the coffee table in front of his lover. Contently watching the old TV, wrapped up in an old Western movie, Gibbs had his mouth full of half a Laffy Taffy candy while the other half was held in his hand. Tony watched, both surprised and in awe, as Gibbs continued to watch the movie, finish the Laffy Taffy, and start eating another candy from the pile. This time, he picked a small bag of M&M's. It wasn't until Gibbs had poured the whole little bag into his mouth that he seemed to feel Tony staring at him. His blue eyes turned to where Tony was standing, and he froze midchew.

After a moment of them just staring at each other, Gibbs finally moved his jaw until he was done chewing, then he said, "You're home earlier than I expected."

Tony smirked, "Couldn't stop getting distracted by my thoughts about you so I rushed to finished them." Tony paused as he eyed the pile, "What are you doing with all that candy?"

Gibbs swallowed and looked away, but not fast enough for Tony to miss the blush on his cheeks. "Eating it," Gibbs said simply.

Tony couldn't help but laugh. "Yah Gibbs. I can see that," Tony's smirk grew, "I meant why? I didn't realize you even liked candy."

Gibbs looked up, his eyes carefully unrevealing. "I don't," he shrugged, "Not usually anyway. But every so often I get a craving for something sweet."

Tony laughed again, "SomeTHING? Gibbs, there's a whole pile there! Where'd it even come from? Did you rob a trick-or-treater?" It was not too long after Halloween after all. There could still be kids with big stocks of candy.

Gibbs glared. "No!" he said loudly, "I went to the store on my way home, and they were having sales to get rid of it."

Tony held up in hands in mock-surrender, "Woah babe! No need to get so defensive. I don't care if you have a candy addiction." He started walking towards Gibbs to sit down next to him. "Just that I would never have guessed you of all people to have one." He reached out to take a piece from the pile but his hand was smacked away with a growl. Tony's eyes lifted, "Or for you to be so addicted you won't even share with your handsome, talented lover who loves you so much."

Gibbs' eyes narrowed and he growled again. "You may be handsome and talented, but this is mine."

Tony held up his hands again and leaned back against the couch, amusedly watching Gibbs continue snacking on his candy stash. He wasn't even hurt that Gibbs didn't want to share because he was so amused. He knew Abby had a candy addiction; she would literally eat it until she threw up her guts into the toilet. But Gibbs? No way would he ever had guessed that Gibbs of all people would like any kind of candy let alone would sit there, greedily eating a huge stack of candy as faithfully and hungrily as he sips his first few cups of coffee of the day. Speaking of people eating candy until they got sick… "Gibbs? How much candy have you eaten so far?"

Taking time to chew the starburst he'd popped into his mouth before he answered, Tony waited until Gibbs answered, "I don't know. I bought two five-pound bags."

Tony eyed the pile and his eyes widened, "Jethro! There's maybe only five pounds left!"

"Yah? So?" Gibbs said indignantly as he continued to chew on the Reese's Pieces.

"So?" Tony repeated incredulously, "You're going to get sick! And I'm not holding back your hair while you throw up!" Tony stood and went to stand in front of the TV so all his lover's attention would be on him. If Tony weren't so determined to put an end to the candy binging, he'd have laughed at Gibbs' expression. His pupils were full-blown, overtaking the blue of his eyes; he was chewing quickly, and his hands shook slightly. It was obvious that Gibbs was under the spell of a sugar high. But Tony didn't let that distract him. He put his hands on his hips and put on his sternest face. "I think you've had enough."

Gibbs shook his head and kept eating.

Tony moved closer, "Gibbs. I'm being serious. You're gonna get sick. Vance won't be happy if you have to call out of work because you're in a candy hangover."

Gibbs wrapped his arms around the pile protectively. Again, Tony would've laughed if he wasn't trying to be in charge. Gibbs looked like a child with his arms around his candy and a glare in his eyes. Bravely, Tony said, "Gibbs. If you don't stop, I'm taking the candy away!" When Gibbs didn't move, Tony threatened, "And then I'll leave and you won't get any sex for a week!"

Gibbs' eyes flared even more with indignation and he held Tony's glare, as if waiting for Tony to admit that he didn't mean it. But Tony glared right back. Finally, Gibbs' eye softened and he moved away from the candy. He rubbed a hand over his face and said quietly, "Guess I got carried away huh?"

"Yah, a little," Tony rolled his eyes.

Gibbs smiled slightly and looked at Tony, his pupils a little less dilated. Then he stood up and started to put the candy back into the bag. Tony helped him by getting the empty wrappers and throwing them away. After Gibbs had put the candy away in a cabinet in the kitchen, he came back to sit with Tony. He restlessly moved from one position to the next, petted Tony, and bounced his legs up and down. He got up and down from the couch too to go into the kitchen to get drinks and real food for Tony and himself. Tony hid his amusement at watching his lover get over his sugar high as he ate and watched the movie. It was the Gibbs version of a sugar high anyway. There was no unending talking or bouncing off the walls like when Abby got her sugar highs. But the constant movement was a dead giveaway that Gibbs was all hyped up. Tony was tempted to take advantage of his lover's hyperness with some nice, hot, hard sex. But he knew that sugar highs didn't last long and when you fell into a sugar low, it was like being in a coma. There was no way Tony was going to get all hot and bothered only to be left with blue balls. Gibbs didn't need that either, so Tony just waited for the inevitable crash.

After nearly a half hour of Gibbs' constant moving, he finally fell over on to his side and rested his head in Tony's lap. Tony smiled down at him affectionately and said, "Ready for bed babe?"

Gibbs slowly nodded and grunted, a huge difference from only moments before.

Tony chuckled and helped his lover to his feet. He swatted his butt as he said, "You head to bed. I'll be right up."

Gibbs grunted again and clumsily went up the stairs. Tony smiled and shook his head to himself before moving to turn the TV and all the lights off. He adjusted the fire slightly so that it wouldn't be hazardous as it burned itself out. He also locked the door, since he felt more comfortable doing so even with two federal agents with guns in the house. He headed up the stairs and in to the bedroom, not surprised to see Gibbs sprawled out on its surface. Tony laughed to himself and moved to the dresser where some of his clothes were starting to gather. He pulled out a pair of flannel PJ pants and one of Gibbs' plain white Hanes shirts and stripped before putting them on. He was glad Gibbs had changed into sweats and a tee before Tony had gotten there so he knew the older man would be comfortable. He went to turn off the lights and get in bed, but stopped when a thought came to him. He quickly reached into his dresser drawer and pulled out the notebook. Inside it, he wrote, "_Gibbs' Quirk Number 16: has a bit of a sweet-tooth."_


	9. Gibbs' Quirk Number 6

Disclaimer: I own nothing. I just own this story in which the characters do whatever my brain can come up with. Lol

Enjoy!

~~~~~NCIS~~~~~

As Tony sat in his 1990 Corvette ZR1 outside the suburban house, he tried to control the inexplicable fear and nervousness he was feeling. He'd never been here before in his year of working at NCIS. He'd never been invited. Technically he hadn't been invited this time either, but he'd been told he was welcome if he needed to talk. And boy, did he need to talk. For some reason, his life had decided to blow up all at once.

First, his fiancée Wendy had left him the night before their wedding. She had only left a single note saying that she wasn't ready to get married and that she was sorry she let it get as far as it did. She'd left, taking all her stuff with her. Even things like pictures of them together -stuff that reminded Tony of their time together- were gone. It was like she'd never even been there, like none of it ever happened. And he would've believed that if the pain he felt at being abandoned didn't hurt so much. He'd loved Wendy. Sure, he spent a lot of his time at work, more than she liked. But he was always there to love and support her. How could she just up and leave him? If she had only come to tell him that she wanted to put the wedding off until she was ready, that would've been okay. He'd have been willing to wait. Though of course, there was the slight-but-noticeable flare of relief. He'd been hesitant to propose to her in the first place. He knew that it was because he had seen his father go through a couple horribly failed marriages; he didn't want to end up like his father, always with the wrong woman and never being truly happy. But he'd loved Wendy enough to think that maybe that was all they needed. But her leaving had ripped a tear in his heart. And yet, there was a part of him that felt like it wasn't meant to be in the first place. Gibbs had offered him his own form of comfort by lightening up the headslaps, offering to get him some time off to recover, and even smiling a bit at him.

He'd denied taking time off of course, not only because his pride was telling him to show that he was strong but because he knew he'd feel better solving crimes and arresting bad guys with Gibbs. In retrospect though, maybe he should've taken time off. The next case they'd caught was a rather difficult one. He found himself breaking Rule 10 only a few hours into it. A young boy, maybe only eight years old, had called NCIS saying that his Marine mother was dead and his father nowhere to be found. Having only one other living relative (his aunt who lived in Texas and would take a few days to come get the boy), Tony and Gibbs immediately agreed that the boy could hand out with them at NCIS. The more evidence they found and the more time spent with the boy, it became obvious that the father was the guilty one. He not only had a history with alcohol and violence, but apparently the boy had heard his father hit his mother and was hit a few times himself. Both Tony and Gibbs were enraged. When they finally found the father, Tony had taken him to the ground only to find himself struggling not to pull the trigger as he stared into the evil man's face. He didn't know what about this case had made him feel so angry. Sure his own father was a bastard and had gotten piss ass drunk plenty of times, but he'd never hurt Tony- not physically anyway. But even after bringing the dad in and charging him and sending him off to rot in jail, Tony didn't feel any better.

So here he was, sitting in Gibbs driveway, hoping to take up the man's offer. Tony tried to think of a reason to just back up and drive away- maybe Gibbs hadn't meant it when he said to stop by if he wanted. Tony recalled the moment. Tony and Gibbs were watching side by side as the dad was taken away to head to prison. Tony let out a long, loud sigh that was filled with exhaustion and his pent up emotions. Gibbs turned to look at him in concern. After a moment, Tony finally turned to look into his all-knowing blue eyes, but before he could say anything Gibbs beat him to it. With his signature half-smile, he said quietly, "My door is always open Tony- if you need it." Tony had smiled a bit at him and nodded in acknowledgment. Then Gibbs had told him to go home; he could finish the paperwork tomorrow. Tony had gone home for a bit, but found the silence and loneliness of his apartment closing in on him. Not even watching a movie could help him feel better. Without thinking too much about it, he hopped in his car and came here. Gibbs had definitely seemed genuine; to tony, it even seemed like Gibbs expected him to show up.

Tony took a deep breath then opened his car and stepped out into the chilly night. He went to the door and paused again. Did Gibbs mean his door was always open in a figurative or literal way? As in should, he knock or ring the doorbell? Or just walk in? Testing it, he reached for the doorknob and twisted it. Half-surprisingly, it turned easily and the door opened. Slowly, Tony stepped through the threshold. When he was in, he called for Gibbs. No answer. He closed the door behind him and waited for a moment, trying to hear any kind of movement to give him a hint of where to go. There was a single light on in the living room to his left, but it was obvious the couch was vacant. He leaned in farther and saw there was a light coming from another doorway. He went to it and realized it was a basement.

"Gibbs?" he called down the stairs.

"Come on down DiNozzo!" was called back.

Tony didn't hesitate to make his way down into the basement. When he reached the bottom he froze with shock. The skeleton of a boat was standing proudly in the center of the room. Tony's eyes widened as he saw the tools holding together as well as hand tools that were scattered everywhere. "Are you building a boat Boss?"

"Well yah DiNozzo. Don't chya see it sitting in front of you?" Gibbs smirked with his sarcastic response.

Tony wrinkled his and smiled at his Boss. Then he looked back at the boat, "That's really cool. Though I guess I'm not really surprised. This definitely seems like something you would do. No patience for modern day tools?"

Gibbs shook his head. Tony continued to look at the boat for a moment longer until Gibbs asked, "Drink?"

"Sure. Whatchya got?"

Gibbs dumped out the contents of a Mason jar onto his work table and reached for a bottle nearby. Tony watched as he filled the jar halfway before turning to hand it to Tony. Tony reached out for it and brought it to his nose. "Bourbon?"

Gibbs smiled proudly and nodded, reaching for his own glass and sipping it. Tony followed his example and sipped it. He coughed a bit, not use to the taste of the alcoholic drink. "Smooth," he croaked between coughs.

"It's hard to get used to," Gibbs smirked knowingly.

When Tony stopped coughing, he looked around the basement again. It was obvious that Gibbs spent a lot of time down here. There was an old TV, a radio, the bourbon and jars; it was messy, and there was a lot of sawdust. Somehow, it felt safe and comforting. He went to sit on the stairs to sip his drink. Gibbs seemed to sense that Tony wasn't quite ready to talk yet, so he went back to working on his boat. Tony was grateful for Gibbs' ability to read him and watched as him as he worked as he sorted through his thoughts. Finally, he said, "How did you deal with it Gibbs?"

Gibbs didn't even pause in his working as he answered truthfully, "Didn't at first. Was angry at her for not being able to stay. Then hated myself. Finally, I just sat down here, drank a lot of bourbon, and started this."

Tony soaked that in for a minute then asked, "And now?"

Gibbs finally turned to Tony and said, "Still drinking and building the boat. But I knew from the start that I wasn't completely committed to it. I know it was better that they left."

Tony already knew about all of Gibbs' marriage, but Gibbs didn't know that. Arching an eyebrow, he said, "They?"

"Married three women. Divorced them all." Gibbs shrugged.

Tony nodded in acceptance. He was honored that Gibbs trusted him enough to tell him about his divorces. He was tempted to ask about Shannon and how he'd gotten over that, but he decided against it; he didn't want to betray Gibbs' trust by asking about something he wasn't supposed to know. "Ryan?" Tony asked quietly.

"That kid was strong. He'll miss mother and the man his father could've been. But he'll be fine. His aunt will make sure of it."

Hearing the confidence in Gibbs' voice, Tony allowed himself to be filled with it. Gibbs was hardly ever wrong when it came to this stuff. Seeing Tony accept his answer, he smiled slightly and turned back to his boat. Tony felt better. He didn't know why; they hadn't said much. Maybe it was the basement- the safe, quiet, protected environment that surrounded them. Maybe it was Gibbs; he always felt better and safe in Gibbs' presence. But for some reason, he felt the sadness of the case and Wendy leaving left slightly, and he knew that he'd be okay. He'd get through this. And for some reason, for the first time in a long time, Tony felt comfortable enough to just be, no talking, no pretending. He let a few tears slip down his face and in a thick, slightly-shaky voice, he said simply, "Thanks Gibbs."

Gibbs turned to look at him again, seeming both shocked and pleased at the gratitude. After a moment, he half-smiled again, his eyes lighting with a gentle affection and concern for his partner- something Tony had never seen before. It was the moment that Tony was suddenly sure without a doubt of Gibbs' trust in him, his care for him, and the strong and unique bond they shared. It was so simple, but Tony had never felt that anyone had cared about him in such a way before; he couldn't even begin to describe how good that made him feel even if it was new. He also knew that whenever he needed, he could come here, to Gibbs' house, and Gibbs would be there for him.

After a moment, Gibbs asked gently, "Why don't you come help? There's a section here that needs sanding."

Tony felt blessed that Gibbs would let him help so he quickly accepted the offer. Gibbs handed him a block with sandpaper on it and taught him how to find the grain so he'd know which way to sand it. When Gibbs was sure Tony had gotten the hang of it, he went back to his task. They sanded for a few hours in companionable silence until Tony finally realized how tired he was.

"I should probably head home Boss."

Gibbs instantly shook his head, "You've had too much to drink."

Tony's brow furrowed in confusion.

Gibbs rolled his eyes with his smirk, "I have a guest bedroom Tony. Come on. I'll show it to you."

Tony followed as Gibbs led him through his house and upstairs to the guest bedroom.

"Where do you sleep?" Tony couldn't help but ask.

"Down stairs on the couch. I'll be there if you need me."

"Thanks again Gibbs."

Gibbs nodded and turned away, "Night."

Tony waited until his boss shut the door before stripping down to his boxers and undershirt. Then he climbed into the bed and sighed contently. Right before, he fell asleep, he made a mental note to write this new Quirk down. "_Gibbs' Quirk Number 6: his door is always open. Literally and also meaning that if you need him, he's there."_


	10. Gibbs' Quirk Number 30

Disclaimer: I do not own NCIS or its characters

Note: I just wanted to say thank you to all who have favorited, followed, or commented on this story. I usually like to respond to you all individually, but life as made it so that that just isn't possible. So a huge THANK YOU goes to every single one of you for each of your comments and whatnot.

~~~~NCIS~~~~

Tony didn't know why he could never sleep long without his lover next to him in their bed. He would just roll over in his unconscious state and realize there was no warm body next to him. His heart would cry out, and he would slowly come back into the real world. He would immediately feel across the surface of the bed, just in case Gibbs was simply out of reach, and groan when he realized that his lover really wasn't in the bed with him. He'd open his eyes and stare at the ceiling for a moment before getting up to use the bathroom and brush his teeth. Then he'd go in search of Gibbs, needing to hug and kiss him good morning.

As Tony did just that this particular morning, he sleepily went down the stairs and into the living room, looking out into the driveway to see if Gibbs' car was still there. If it wasn't Tony would know that Gibbs had most likely gone out to get food to restock the fridge and cabinets or buy some more wood for his ongoing projects. Luckily, this morning, both of their cars were still in the driveway. Tony continued through the living room, past the table they didn't just use for eating, and into the kitchen. Going straight for the coffee maker, he turned it on so that he'd have fresh coffee. As Tony waited for the beverage to be made, he stood leaning against the counter. He sleepily noticed that there were no other sounds in the house beside the gurgling of the coffee. Tony's brow furrowed. If Gibbs were down in the basement, he'd heard the sanding or sawing or whatever he was doing as well as his footsteps and the clanging of tools. He knew Gibbs wasn't in either of the showers. So where was he?

As the coffee was finally done, he reached to the cabinet closest to the window to take out the sugar. But as his eyes caught movement beyond the glass, he looked out into their backyard. It was Gibbs. 'What is he doing?' Tony thought to himself. He watched as his lover stood unmoving in the middle of the yard by where Tony knew the birdbath and small garden were, even if his lover's body was blocking it. Gibbs back was to Tony so he couldn't tell what he was doing. For a few minutes, his lover stood still as a statue. Just as Tony was ready to go out and ask what he was doing, a small bird (possibly a sparrow) flew off away from Gibbs, who watched it with a small, gentle, proud smile on his face.

Tony's confusion only increased as Gibbs continued to watch it until the bird was out of sight. Then he nodded his head once with his signature, proud smirk, as if reassuring himself he'd just done a good job, then turned and walked back to the house. Tony continued to take out the sugar and then went to the fridge to get the milk. As he loaded both into his cup, his lover finally came through the door.

When he saw Tony, he smiled warmly, "Morning bed bug."

Tony chuckled and smiled warmly back, "Morning sexy."

Gibbs' eyes brightened as they always did when Tony called him some kind of petname (as long as it wasn't too cute or annoying like honeybear or pookie or sweetheart), and he came over to wrap his arms around Tony, giving him a good morning kiss along the way. Tony happily responded, hugging Gibbs tightly and deepening the kiss. He loved these sweet, simple moments, and he knew that, even if he wouldn't admit it to anyone besides maybe Tony, Gibbs loved these moments too. When Gibbs finally pulled away, he went the few extra steps to the fridge and opened it up, "Ya hungry?"

Tony smirk, "Do you even have to ask?"

Gibbs chuckled, "No… Let me rephrase that. What are ya hungry for?"

Tony sipped as his coffee as he thought for a second. Then he answered, "Pancakes? And scrambled eggs?"

"Sure! Coming right up."

Tony and Gibbs had this semi-regular system of Gibbs making breakfast and Tony making dinner. Sometimes they would switch like when Tony wanted cowboy-style steak and Gibbs wanted ones of Tony's three-meat-and-cheese omelets. Other times, Gibbs would take Tony to his favorite diner where he got his favorite cup of morning coffee for breakfast, Tony would take Gibbs to his favorite restaurant for dinner, or they would just order take-out if they were too lazy. It was nice, easy, and Tony and Gibbs relished the fact that they fit together so easily.

As Gibbs started cooking, Tony went to sit at the little kitchen table to drink his coffee and wait. He watched Gibbs move, admiring him. Then finally, Tony couldn't take it anymore. He nonchalantly asked, "Speaking of eggs, what were you doing earlier? In the backyard?"

Gibbs didn't turn around as he shrugged, "A bird flew into the window."

Tony waited for his lover to elaborate, but of course, he didn't. "Huh?" Tony said with his brows furrowed and his head tilted to one side.

Gibbs lowered the heat on the skillet and turned around. He looked right at Tony and explained, "A bird flew into the window. And ya know how they get all stunned and disoriented after that happens?" Tony nodded. "Well for some it takes longer than others- sometimes too long. So I go out, pick them up, and hold them up on the birdbath until they reorient themselves and fly away. I think being off the ground helps them recover faster."

It was times like these that still managed to shock Tony. He knew that over the course of them being together, Gibbs had learned to be more open, honest, and talkative with Tony. And Tony loved that fact, felt beyond blessed that Gibbs felt comfortable and loved him enough to be so free with his secrets, past, mannerisms, whatever, but it still shocked him. So after a minute of just staring at Gibbs as the information soaked in, Tony finally said, "Why?"

"Why does being off the ground help them?"

"No," Tony shook his head, "Why do you do it?"

Gibbs looked thoughtful for a moment, as if he didn't really know why he did it. Then he said, "Well it used to be Shannon's thing. She was always so compassionate with animals. She taught Kelly to do it too. She would always beg me to go outside and help the poor bird that crashed and fell." Gibbs got that small smile and faraway look he always got when remembering happy memories of his girls. Tony smiled too whenever Gibbs shared his memories. Now was no different. "I never really understood the point, but I would do it. And every time the bird flew away, Kelly and Shannon would get this proud, happy smile. Kelly would always wave and shout goodbye to the bird." Gibbs chuckled at this and so did Tony. "After they were gone, I kept doing it because I would hear Kelly's voice pestering me to go help. But then after a while, I noticed it made me feel good to watch them fly away. Not just because my girls would be proud but because it made me feel good to help even a life as small as a birds."

Tony waited for Gibbs to come back from his memories. He knew Gibbs returned when his eyes unclouded and became focused on him. Tony smiled, "You looked really proud of yourself when it flew away."

Gibbs smiled shyly and turned back to the pancakes and eggs. Tony smiled to himself and stood up. He went behind Gibbs and hugged him, pressing his front against Gibbs' back. He rested his head on Gibbs' shoulder and hummed in appreciation. Gibbs relaxed against his lover and placed one arm across Tony's around his waist. Tony kissed the back of Gibbs' neck and whispered, "Thank you for sharing that memory Jethro."

He knew Gibbs still found it odd that Tony was so accepting of Gibbs' foot in the past, actually wanting to hear about them and include them in some of the stuff they did. Tony knew it would take a lot of reassuring to get Gibbs to realize that he didn't want Gibbs to keep his life with them and his life with him separate, that he loved hearing about them and getting to know them through Gibbs' memories of them. He loved every part of Jethro, and he wasn't about to let Gibbs forget the two people whom were so important to him.

"You're welcome Tone."

Tony kissed the back of his neck once more time before saying, "Be right back."

Gibbs nodded.

Tony untangled himself from Jethro and went upstairs to their bedroom. He opened his bedside table drawer and reached for his notebook. He then reached for the pen and quickly wrote the next quirk. "_Gibbs' Quirk Number 30: rescues birds after the fly into the windows and stays with them until they fly away."_


	11. Gibbs' Quirk Number 21

Disclaimer: it's still not mine people

Note: this came to me when I was watching season 6's "Cloak" and "Dagger". It just got me thinking that, being an NCIS agent and with his past as a Marine, he's gotta have a number of scars. And I thought that might make a good quirk and here it is.

Warning: contains m/m sex. If you don't like it, don't read it. For those who do like/read it, beware of cuteness.

~~~~~NCIS~~~~~

Tony sighed with contentment as he felt a wave of bliss wash over him. He, Jethro, and the rest of their NCIS family had had a long few days. The case they caught ended up connecting them an underground eco-terrorist, the FBI, and Homeland Security. It had been brutal. Tony didn't know how Gibbs managed not to kill anyone. Though he'd come close twice; once, on the Homeland guy they'd been working with and twice with the terrorist they'd caught. Both parties had been complete assholes- uncooperative, snobbish, and just full on obnoxious. Tony was surprised the two men weren't related and had almost killed them himself. Actually, he was pretty sure everyone –Gibbs, Tony, McGee, Ziva, Vance, and even Abby, Ducky, and Palmer- had wanted to throttle at least one of the men themselves as well. Luckily, Gibbs had been them only one who came close. And all it took to hold him back was a light touch and a look from Tony, and Gibbs had instantly been rooted to the ground, calmed enough to not kill. Now that they were finally home though, they'd both felt as if a huge pressure had been lifted from their chests. Without discussing it, Tony had followed Gibbs upstairs to the bedroom, they'd changed into comfy PJs, then they'd both come downstairs to flop on the couch with a movie playing on the TV. It was when Jethro had started petting his head that he allowed the tensions of the day melt away and just focused on being there with his lover. As his body seemed to liquefy and mold into the couch and Gibbs' lap, Gibbs chuckled with affection.

Tony let his eyes close as Gibbs continued his petting. These were some of his favorite moments; when Jethro's touch was gentle and reassuring and Tony could just BE with his lover. After about ten minutes of lying there, just like that, Tony opened his eyes and looked up at his lover. His blue eyes were already looking down on him with a soft, gentle smile that shook Tony to his core in the best way possible. He smiled lovingly up at the man he loved. When Gibbs' smile grew bigger in response, Tony sat up and reached for his lover's hand. He pulled him up and led him up the stairs. Once they were in the bedroom, Tony stopped by the bed and turned to his lover. Gibbs was looking at him patiently yet there was a hint of excitement as he realized what Tony wanted. Seeing that he was in charge (at least for the moment), Tony instantly captured Gibbs' lips in a gentle, yet searing kiss; he let all his emotions flow into the kiss, hoping Gibbs would understand. He did of course and responded by grabbing onto Tony's face and kissing him just as strong.

When the kissing had escalated and Tony felt the need for skin to skin contact, he slipped his hands under Gibbs' t-shirt and pulled it up and over his head. As he tossed it behind him, he pulled his lips away from Jethro's and left a trail of kisses down his chin and neck. He ghosted his fingertips up the older man's sides, causing him to shiver and gasp. Tony was playing with his lover's control, and they both knew it. When Tony's fingers dragged over his already-peeked nipples, Gibbs shook even more and let out a faint moan. Tony slid his fingertips back down the amazing body in front of him until he reached the pants. He easily wrapped his fingers around those and slowly started to pull them down. Gibbs watched as Tony sank to his knees in front of him. When he'd made it there, he left one leg then the other out of the sweats he'd been wearing and Tony pushed the aside. Now parallel to Jethro's cock, Tony licked his lips as he saw it was hard and leaking.

"Do I affect you that much Jethro?" Tony asked in a near whisper.

"Yes," Gibbs gasped. It sounded like a plea.

One that Tony was willing to answer. He gripped Gibbs' hips and looked up to watch his lover's face as he flicked out his tongue and ran it across the head of his cock. Gibbs shook again and moaned. This time Tony ran his tongue all the way from Gibbs' balls up to the head, twirling it around at the end. Jethro grabbed on to Tony's hair to keep himself from collapsing to the floor. Tony could tell his lover was extremely sensitive at the moment; he was far from being done with him yet though, so he would only allow himself a quick taste before moving on. Tony opened his mouth and wrapped it around the hard shaft in front of him. He used his lips and tongue expertly to unravel his lover even further. Gibbs gasped and moaned and shook as Tony perfectly sucked his dick. If Tony didn't stop, it wouldn't take much more for him to come. A few short moments later, Tony pulled himself off Gibbs and got to his feet. Gibbs moaned with loss but was instantly soothed by Tony's body returning to his, taking his lips in a red hot kiss. It was then that Gibbs realized Tony was way too overdressed. He pulled Tony's shirt up and over his head tossing it away. Then Tony stepped back and removed his own pants.

When his hands returned to Jethro it was to gently push him back onto the bed. Gibbs willingly watched as Tony looked up and down his body hungrily. Tony would never get enough of the sight that was Gibbs' body. Not for the first time, he noticed the scattered scars that covered his lover's body. Suddenly, he was overwhelmed with the need to touch them and ask what caused them. He crawled on to the bed on his hands and knees and crouched over Jethro. As he went, he pressed a kiss to each and every scar, causing the older man to gasp and sigh.

"So many scars," Tony whispered when he finally was leaning over Gibbs' face.

Gibbs blushed shyly, a sight that Tony stored in his brain to think about at later dates.

Tony sat up on his knees in between Gibbs legs and looked up and down his body again. He ghosted over the one on his knee and said quietly, "I know this one is from Desert Storm, but," he ran his fingers up until he came to one long but neat scar on his thigh, "where's this one from?"

"On a case before your time. Was chasing a perp. Jumped on him. Brought him to the ground. Fucker got luckily and cut me with his knife. Mike shot him before I had the chance."

Tony kissed again the scar on his knee and the scar on his thigh. Gibbs' eyes fluttered with every gentle kiss. Tony's hands moved up to one on his stomach that was long and jagged.

Before he could ask Gibbs said, "Columbia. Was hunting a drug lord who was also a rapist and murder. Killed him but was nearly killed myself. Was bleeding out from that wound as well as this one," he pointed to a knife-shaped wound in the middle of his chest, lower than his heart and lungs. "A woman named Rose found me and nursed me back to health."

Tony gently kissed each scar, these ones for a slightly longer time because they'd almost killed the older man. Gibbs heart skipped with each lingering kiss. Tony sat up again and ran his fingers up Gibbs' torso, moving up to his left shoulder. He knew where that one was from too. It was from when Ari had gotten inside NCIS and taken Kate, Ducky, and Gerald hostage. Ari had wanted a gun match with Gibbs. Gibbs thought he'd killed him, but he'd been shot in the shoulder and knocked out because of it, allowing Ari to escape. Tony had held the gauze to the wound himself, had tried to keep Gibbs still by pressing their bodies together. He remembered that day well and again left a lingering kiss on the scar. Gibbs knew he remembered and stayed silent, sighing as Tony's lips chased away the pain he still remembered from that injury. Tony continued his way down Gibbs' arm, running his fingertips over the multiple scare that were there.

"Those are all a mixture of injuries from the explosions before each of my comas, woodworking accidents, fights I'd gotten into when I was growing up, and just being careless."

Tony lifted his arm and brought it to his lips. He kissed the rather mean looking scar on Gibbs' palm and every one up until his shoulder. Gibbs shivered at Tony's gentleness. Tony fingers moved across to his other arm where the same kind of scars were. He kissed all those too. When Tony looked at his face, he saw the new scar in his eyebrow from the shootout with Bankston in which Agent Lee and her captor had been killed. He leaned down and pressed a kiss to it. Gibbs closed his eyes in bliss and Tony recaptured his lips.

In between kisses, Gibbs couldn't help but say, "I think. There are some more. On my back. That need. Your attention."

Tony was shocked that Gibbs was actually asking for more let alone that he had let him do it to begin with. He pulled back and looked into Gibbs' dark blue eyes. They were bright with desire, need, and a vulnerability Tony had never seen before. When he saw no hesitation or regret about what he'd asked, Tony smiled gently and moved so Gibbs could lie down on his stomach. Tony's eyes moved from Gibbs' feet up to the back of his silver head. His dick jumped as he uncontrollably imagined Gibbs letting him top. He took a deep breath. Now wasn't about him. Now was about loving every inch of Gibbs' skin, showing the older man that Tony could be trusted to take care of him in this kind of vulnerable state. And Tony was in bliss every moment. He saw an old, dark scar on the back of Gibbs' calf. He bent down and gently kissed it.

"Was diving out of the way of a hail of gunfire during a raid at a child prostitution factory. A bullet grazed my leg as I took cover. Only injury I left with." Gibbs said it was such pride that Tony smiled. He also didn't even need to ask whether the bad guys or the good guys had won. Gibbs would've sounded sad and regretful if he and whoever was with him hadn't succeeded in bringing down the bad guys and saving the kids.

Next Tony's eyes landed on the inside of his thigh where a few animal-claw marks were. He leaned in and, as he kissed the marks, he couldn't help but nuzzle the back of Gibbs' sac with his nose. Gibbs gasped and shuddered. When he spoke, his voice was lightly shaky, "Those are from Diane. When she found out about Shannon, she decided to put on this show to get me into bed with her. Then she just went crazy. Started clawing, biting, and hitting me. Yelling at me. Pretty sure she also killed me."

Tony growled both with jealousy and rage that that bitch had tried to hurt his lover. He leaned back in and, instead of kissing the marks, he gently bit them and growled again as he nuzzled his love's sac even harder. Gibbs groaned before saying, "I'd love for you to mark me too Tone."

Smiling with satisfaction, Tony sat up with intent to move on. He could mark Gibbs another time. When Tony's eyes landed on the next scar, his smile widened with anticipation. Not because of the scar itself, which was round like a bullet wound only smaller, but because of where it was. Right smack dab in the middle of Jethro' left butt cheek. Instead of gently kissing this one, Tony leaned down and slowly ran his tongue over it. Gibbs whimpered as his body shook. Tony smirked as he opened his mouth and tenderly started sucking the mark. Gibbs' hand fisted tightly on the sheets and he moaned. While Tony sucked, Jethro panted, "Fight with some old enemies in Stillwater. One bent me over a bench and held me there while the other burned me with a cigarette while their buddies watched and laughed." Tony wanted to whimper in sadness for his lover and go back in time and kill them all. His sucking increased and his hands gripped Gibbs' tighter. Gibbs gasped, "Oh Tony. That feels so good."

When he decided enough was enough, he released Jethro's cheek from his mouth with a pop. Gibbs sighed loudly in loss, but Tony wasn't done with the rest of his body yet. He looked up his back and the exit wound from Ari bullet on the back of his shoulder as well as a few small scratch marks along the back of his ribs. He kissed them all individually while Gibbs answered, "Those were from Shannon."

Tony smiled gently, honored that Gibbs would share that information with him. He kissed them extra softly; Tony would never be jealous over anything he and Shannon had had. Thinking, he had gotten all of his lover's scars, he was about to roll Gibbs back over when he saw some kind of mark behind his ear. It was partially covered by his hair so he reached up with his fingers to feel where it ended. It wasn't long or puffy so he couldn't tell exactly. But it was thick.

"That's from Stephanie when she managed to hit me with her seven-iron," Gibbs supplied the answer.

Again Tony growled, wanting to throttle Gibbs' last ex-wife from hurting him. Gibbs' chuckling was cut off by Tony running his tongue along the scar and then to his sensitive spot right behind his ear. As Tony started nibbling his ear, Gibbs moaned and clenched the sheets. "Tony!" he gasped. Tony smirked, pleased with himself for knowing one of his lover's weak spots. As he listened to Gibbs' soft moaning, Tony decided to raise the heat back up. He rested nearly all of his weight on Gibbs' back, letting his hard cock rub between Gibbs' legs. Gibbs moaned loudly and uncontrollably bucked his hips up into Tony, spreading his legs to give Tony more room. Tony hummed in appreciation, and humped him again. Again, Gibbs moaned and thrusted back. His fists were gripping the sheets tightly; it was obviously he wanted to explode. Tony pressed his lips against Gibbs' ear and whispered, "Want do you want Gibbs? Tell me what you want."

Gibbs sighed as Tony's hot breath danced across him, but he didn't answer.

Tony humped him again, being sure to press against Gibbs' sac and dick. Gibbs gasped loudly and started shaking. Tony ordered quietly, "Tell me."

"I want you inside me," he managed to gasp.

Not needing any more, Tony kissed Gibbs' ear before sitting up and reaching into the night stand for lube. When Gibbs didn't move, Tony gently asked, "How do you want this Gibbs? Just like that or do you want to flip over?" Tony had never topped Gibbs before. He wanted to do it right, without hurting Gibbs no matter how much he wanted this. He had never felt more honored and trusted in his life.

Gibbs had to think for a moment through his arousal and anticipation. He wanted it both ways. The thought of Tony on top of him like he was nearly drove him to climax right then, but he also wanted to see Tony, to watch his face as he finally pressed inside him, as he finally came. Tony sensed what Gibbs was thinking and he leaned back down to whisper in Gibbs' ear, "We have all the time in the world Gibbs. I love you, and I'm never going anywhere. We have plenty of time to do it both ways. Hell, we have time to make love in every position known to man as well as time to come up with new ones. I'm sure we can come up with a position that no one knows," he chuckled.

Hearing Gibbs say it like that, he came to his decision, "I want you to take me just like this. I want to be completely at your mercy."

Tony moaned at the words but asked, "You sure?"

Gibbs nodded and moved to his knees. He kept his head down on the bed, his hands gripping the sheets still. Tony quickly, opened the bottle and squeezed some on to his hands. He would be slow and gentle with Gibbs even if it killed him. "Just stay as relaxed as possible love," Tony soothed as he lifted his hand to Gibbs' hole. As he started massaging it, he grabbed Gibbs' cock in his other hand and slowly started pumping up and down. As Gibbs moaned at the double sensation, Tony slowly eased one finger inside Gibbs. Gibbs gasped but didn't tense at the new feeling. Tony continued to press until he was all the way in. Then he started moving his finger to open Gibbs. Soon, he added two, and Gibbs still didn't tense, just continued to moan as Tony slowly stroked his cock. Eventually, he added three then four fingers inside Gibbs. The older man's moans never ceased, only increased in volume and quantity. When Jethro's hips started unconsciously thrusting back into Tony's hand, he knew Gibbs was ready. He slowly removed his fingers from Gibbs' hole and let go of his cock. Gibbs whimpered at the loss but then sighed as Tony's head pressed against his now-stretched hole.

"Ready?" Tony asked gently.

As a response, Gibbs pushed back into Tony and slowly took all of his cock inside him. Tony and Gibbs both moaned long and loud, wanting to come right then. But when Tony was balls deep, he paused and let them both calm down slightly. When Gibbs whispered Tony's name with so much love and trust, Tony knew he was ready and slowly started to move his hips. Tony took Gibbs gently and gradually, wanting this to last. They were both moaning long and deep. But finally, Gibbs wanted it all.

"Tony," he moaned, "Finish me off. I need you to make me come."

Not needing any other orders, Tony shifted slightly and then fucked Gibbs with all his might, making sure to press on his prostate with every thrust. Both men's moaning increased. Gibbs met Tony with every thrust until he was on the edge. Knowing how close Gibbs was, Tony shouted, "Come for me Gibbs!"

Gibbs let out a loud roar of Tony's name and came all over the bed. Tony followed quickly behind with a shout of Gibbs' name and shot his load into Gibbs. They both collapsed on the bed, and Tony held Gibbs as they came down from their highs. When they'd finally caught their breath, Gibbs said, "That was incredible."

"Yah. It was," Tony smiled. He kissed Gibbs temple before he slowly pulled out of him and went to get a wet wash cloth to wash them off. He tossed the soiled cloth away before climbing into bed with his lover, pulling the sheets over them. Gibbs turned around so he could kiss Tony's lips. Tony sighed happily into the kiss. When Gibbs pulled away, he said quietly, "Thank you Tony."

Tony smiled loving at him, "Thank you."

Gibbs settled deeper into the bed, resting his head against Tony's chest. He sighed long and happy as he relaxed. After a minute, he said, "Love you. Night."

Tony kissed his salt-and-pepper hair, "Love you too. Sleep well."

"Always do when you here to hold me," Gibbs whispered and then feel into a deep sleep.

Tony was left smiling with an amount of love he'd never felt before. He held Gibbs tightly to him, never wanting to let him go. Just as he was about to fall asleep himself, he suddenly thought of another quirk. Without moving too much, he reached into the drawer and pulled out the notebook. When he was done writing, he put it back, turned off the light, settled back against Gibbs, and fell asleep. "_Gibbs Quirk Number 21: really likes having his scars kissed; it may lead to submission as well."_


	12. Gibbs' Quirk Number 23

Disclaimer: if I owned NCIS, I wouldn't need to go to college or have a job at the mall lol

Note: soooooo I know this is a little late. But the holidays refused to let me write much since I was either working A LOT, celebrating, or catching up with my friends. And then I started classes so I had to get that all settled and get readjusted to waking up early. SO with that being said, this is my contribution to Christmasy stories or whatever you wanna call em. Hope y'all don't mind

~~~~~NCIS~~~~~

Tony had been dreaming such a good dream; he and Gibbs had started living together and had made love on every do-able surface in the house to celebrate. He and his lover were about to start all over again when suddenly Tony realized he didn't have to dream about it. He was living it! And as if his subconscious mind had reminded him that the dream had in fact been merely a memory of reality, he was blinking into the blinding light that was seeping through the messed up shade of the window. When his eyes had adjusted, he couldn't help but smile in contentment. He was in bed that was now his to share with Jethro in a house that was theirs with his love sleeping deeply next to him. After so much love making over the past few days, he and his lover had collapsed on the bed and immediately fallen asleep before their bodies even contacted the sheets. Despite that, even in sleep, their bodies had been inexplicably pulled towards one another like magnets. Tony was so tangled with Jethro that he had no idea where his own body started and where Gibbs' ended. His head was resting on Gibbs' chest just above the older man's heart; he could hear the steady beating, and it made him smile to know Gibbs had let him into it. Yes sir, reality was definitely better then Tony's dreams.

Tony snuggled closer to Gibbs, nuzzling his chest hair with his nose a bit. As a result, Gibbs' arms tightened around Tony and pulled him closer. Judging by the smooth, deep breathing though, he was still asleep, so Tony took the opportunity to just soak up the moment and the feeling of being so close to his lover. He let his mind go blank in favor of listening to the relaxing repetition of Gibbs' breathing and heartbeat. It soothed him, grounded him, made him feel as if there was nothing outside of the edges of the bed. Tony had never been more certain that Gibbs was THE ONE, his lifemate, his soulmate, his everything.

When Gibbs finally woke, blinking at the sunlight as Tony had done, he too was beyond blissful to find that his dreams had been true. He looked down at the top of the brown head, gripped Tony tighter, and kissed his brunette hair. "Morning," he croaked with a smile.

Tony shifted so that he could look at Gibbs but keep his head on the older man's chest. He smiled lovingly at Gibbs and said, "Hey handsome."

Gibbs chuckled causing Tony's smile to widen. Gibbs couldn't help but lean forward until his lips met Tony's. It was gentle kiss full of love and joy. Both men's bodies ached from nearly nonstop sex, and they both knew they needed at least a small break. Gibbs needed coffee and Tony needed a real meal, not just the small snacks he'd eaten in between their nearly non-stop love making. They both needed a shower and to call the team who had been calling and texting constantly for an update on their first few days of living together. They both knew that they probably didn't have much time before Abby would stop by to extinguish her huge amount of curiosity. But that didn't mean, they couldn't kiss or touch. When they parted to breathe, they both smiled widely at each other before disentangling themselves and climbing out of bed. While Tony headed towards the shower, Gibbs went downstairs to make his coffee. After he had gulped down a cup and turned the coffee maker back on for more, he ran upstairs to join Tony in the shower. They'd just barely managed not to give into their desires only because both of their stomachs were roaring with hunger.

Being too hungry to wait while they cooked, they settled for heating up leftover Chinese and pizza from the fridge. They eat in comfortable silence which was a huge contrast to the constant and loud sighs, moans, words, and screams of the days before. When they were done, they stood at the sink and worked together to clean and dry the dishes and put them away. It wasn't lost on either how in sync they were as Gibbs washed the dishes, passed them to Tony who dried them and put them away, ready to take the next dish as Gibbs handed it to him. It made both think yet again how blessed they were and about how excited they were for their life together.

Finally, as they put away the last dish, Tony spoke, "We should head out to the food store today. Restock the fridge and cabinets."

Gibbs grunted in agreement. The leftovers had been nearly the last of the food. Just then, for the first time, as he turned to head into the living room, Tony's eyes fell on the world outside the house. He gasped, "Holy shit!"

Gibbs was instantly by his side, "What?"

Tony pointed to the window and Gibbs turned to look. Outside, the ground, the fence, the cars, everything was covered in a thick blanket of snow. The road had been plowed recently which made it easy to see that the snow was about a foot deep. Tony turned back to Gibbs, "What day is it?"

Gibbs shrugged. He had no idea. He'd lost track of the day, the month, hell- the year over the past few days, his mind focused on nothing but Tony, pleasing Tony, being pleased, and sharing their love. He'd felt as if both years and no time at all had passed. So no, he had no idea.

Tony quickly went to his phone which was sitting on the floor by his pants that Gibbs had ripped off sometime before. He picked it up and ignoring the notifications about all the calls and texts he'd gotten, looked at the time and date. Shocked by what he saw, he nearly dropped his phone as he whirled around and looked at his confused lover. "It's the day before Christmas, Gibbs. December 24th," Tony said, his voice thick with astonishment.

Gibbs stared at Tony for a moment as that soaked in. He'd asked Tony to move in with him four days ago. They'd made love for nearly the whole time. Four days had passed without either of them realizing it. It seemed both unbelievable and totally believable all at the same time. With that thought, Gibbs couldn't stop the fit of laughter that overcame him. He doubled over as he laughed until his sides hurt. Tony just stared at the older man for a few moments, wondering what was so funny. Then he too realized that they'd made love for four days without noticing it and joined in with Gibbs' laughter.

"I can't believe it's Christmas Eve and we didn't even realize it," Tony said through his laughter.

Gibbs could only nod as he clutched his stomach to keep its contents from exploding.

Finally, the laughing had passed and they both leaned back against the couch on the floor. Their sides were pressed against each others as they gasped for air. When he could speak, Tony turned to Gibbs and asked hesitantly, "Are we gonna do anything?"

Neither of them were huge fans of Christmas. Though each for different reasons. Gibbs had never really liked the holiday, but after he and Shannon had started dating, she seemed to make the holiday fun and enjoyable. He'd found himself looking forward to spending the holiday with her. And when Kelly came along, the holiday became one of his favorite days of the year. Somehow he'd always managed to come home for Christmas. He'd loved watching his daughter tear into her presents and squealed in excitement and joy with every one she opened. She would jump into Gibbs' lap and hug him tight saying thank you about a million times before launching off of him to go play with her toys. After they'd died, the holiday lost all meaning. He hated it and all the memories that came with it. Tony had loved Christmas in his earlier life. He would spend it with his parents. His mother would cook a large feast while he and his father hung up the decorations and tree. Then they would gather in the living room and opened presents. Tony was given anything he wanted, but that didn't matter as much to him as when he and his parents would sit and watch every Christmas movie known to man while eating an unending amount of popcorn by the fire. He'd loved those moments. After his mother died, he tried his best to have a good Christmas. But his father refused to even acknowledge the day and Tony was forced to find other means of celebrating. Later, in college, he spent most Christmases with his frat brothers and, though they had fun, something was always missing. After he grew apart from his brothers, he still tried to celebrate at least a little. But he never decorated, never got a tree, never ate a big meal, never spent it with people who mattered to him. The changed slightly when he'd joined NCIS. When he wasn't spending Christmas on a case, he would meet up with Abby and Ducky. He passed on his tradition of watching '_It's A Wonderful Life' _to them. Later, Kate, McGee, and Ziva joined them. The holiday became easier to enjoy but never fully.

Now was different though. Tony was with Gibbs, a man who he loved more than anything and who loved him just as much back. That could be a recipe for an enjoyable holiday right? Either way, Tony found himself really wanted to celebrate with Gibbs. Even if they couldn't go all out, what with them so unprepared and all. They could still get a tree and gifts. If that's what Gibbs wanted. Tony would be fine with just being with him if Gibbs couldn't face celebrating. He knew and understood Gibbs' reasons for hating the holiday.

Gibbs seemed to see Tony's inner war and reached for his hand. He squeezed it tight and kissed it. Tony's eyes focused on him. Gibbs smiled gently and said quietly, "I'd be honored to celebrate Christmas anyway you want Tony."

Tony looked into the blue eyes for any kind of hesitation, but there was none. Tony's face lit up with a smile, and he said, "Okay! Then we'll need a tree and some lights! We should at least hang some stockings or tinsel or something. We need a fire. And to watch '_It's a Wonderful Life'_ of course. With popcorn! I don't think there's time for gifts though since I have no idea what to get you."

Gibbs gently headslapped him, "I don't care about gifts. I have you. In my home- our home now. You're my gift."

Tony immediately blushed and his smile grew. He quickly pressed his lips to Gibbs'. Gibbs smiled into the kiss. When Tony pulled away, he pointed at his lover and said, "You, mister, know exactly how to wrap me around your finger dontchya?"

Gibbs just smiled and winked. Tony chuckled before his mind turned back to his planning. Gibbs just cocked one eyebrow as he listened to Tony talked out his plans to himself. He found that his usual dread for Christmas was nowhere to be found. He was actually a little excited. Seeing how happy Tony was made him happy and proud inside. And he knew his girls would be joyful to see him celebrating their favorite holiday again.

"Okay! I've got it!" Tony's voice cut through Gibbs' thoughts, "I'm going to go and get a tree and some decorations. You go and get the food, and we'll set up together."

Tony looked at Gibbs to make sure his plan was okay. When Gibbs nodded and agreed, his excitement grew. He quickly jumped up and went to get dressed while Gibbs just watched him and shook his head affectionately before following more slowly.

~~~~~NCIS~~~~~

Nearly two hours later, Gibbs had returned with the groceries and put them away. He had started a fire and turned on the oven so he could make some chocolate chips cookies, which had always been Kelly's favorite to eat on Christmas. Then he reached for his phone and pressed speed dial number 3. After three rings, the man finally answered, "Ahhhh Jethro! Abigail, Timothy, Ziva, Mister Palmer, and I were wondering when we were going to hear from you. How are things going my dear boy?"

"Everything is going great Duck." He heard some clanging and chatter in the background, "What's going on there?"

Before Ducky could answer, he heard a shriek, "Is that Gibbs?! Let me talk to him!" He heard a struggle and some laughing before Abby's loud voice shouted, "Gibbs! Gibbs! Gibbs!"

Gibbs chuckled as he cringed, pulling the phone slightly away from his head, "Hey Abs."

"Why haven't we heard from you guys?"

"Tony and I were a little… busy."

Abby gasped and squealed, "Oh oh oh! I knew it! It was the only reason I didn't stop by. I didn't know if you two would be naked and in the middle of-"

"Abigail!" Ducky admonished.

Abby giggled, "So what are you doing Gibbs? Where's Tony?"

"He's out. Uh. He's buying a tree and stuff."

"You guys are celebrating Christmas?" Abby sounded shocked.

"Uh. Yaaaahhh."

"Woah. That's big. Whose idea was it?"

"Mine," Gibbs cringed slightly. He was growing more nervous as time went on.

Suddenly, Ducky's voice was on the other end, "And now you're feeling nervous."

As usual, Ducky read him like a book. Gibbs made some agreeing noise.

"I'd be surprised if you weren't feeling some sort of hesitation Jethro. What exactly has you nervous?"

"Haven't done Christmas in a long time Duck. Not sure if I'll live up to Tony's hopes."

"Jethro! That's ludicrous. Of course you will! Tony loves you and will be pleased with whatever show you give him."

Abby's voice joined in, "Yah Gibbs. Tony doesn't care about a large show of affection and certainly not for the sake of a holiday. I'm surprised he is even going along with getting a tree and all. He's usually almost as Grinch-y as you are," she said it lightly so he would know she was kidding, "Just show him that you love him and are glad to be with him on this oh-so-special day."

Realizing his unofficially-adopted daughter and best friend had a point, he felt a little silly for his worries. He turned the conversation over to ask what they were up to. Abby responded by saying that the whole family was having dinner. Her, Ducky, and McGee were cooking the dinner while Ziva and Palmer were making the deserts. For once, none of them had had plans to do something else that were cancelled and had wanted to spend the day together.

"You and Tony were invited Gibbs but neither of you answered your phones. But don't feel bad because we figured you would wanna be together anyway, what with only just moving in together and all. But if you guys decide that you wanna stop over, you're welcome to. We miss you guys but we get that you and Tony wanna be alone, to give each other a very special Christmas gift." She said it in a conspiratorial voice, suggesting every dirty idea possible. Gibbs chuckled and rolled his eyes, but didn't deny it as Ducky again chastised Abby for her perversion.

Just then, Gibbs heard a car door slam just outside. Tony was home. Gibbs couldn't stop the smile that formed on his face. Quickly, he said, "Gotta go Abs. Tony's home."

"Okay. Merry Christmas Gibbs! Everybody say 'Merry Christmas' to Gibbs!" Everyone in the background shouted the words and some other words like 'miss you guys' and 'have fun'. Then Abby said one last "Love ya Gibbs" before she hung up.

Gibbs moved to meet Tony. He opened the door and saw his lover struggling to gather the boxes of decorations he'd bought. Gibbs' eyes widened but then he shook his head and asked, "Need a hand there Tone?"

"Yah," Tony grunted, "Heavier than it looks."

Gibbs quickly went to take the box from Tony's hands. He gasped as he realized it was really heavy. "Holy shit. What the hell did you get?"

Tony said, "String lights for the tree. Other ornaments. Stockings. String lights for whatever we decide to put them on. And the tree."

Gibbs looked up closer at the tree. It wasn't that big or rich with needles and branches. But it wasn't a Charlie Brown tree either. It was tied and wrapped up though so Gibbs couldn't tell how good it would look. Though he was sure that, even if it had been a Charlie Brown tree, he'd have loved it because Tony was the one who chose and brought it home.

Over the next few hours, Tony and Gibbs worked together to set up for their mini-Christmas. Gibbs alternated between decorating and cooking the food. Tony had taken in upon himself to hook up his iHome and put on a Christmas music playlist, saying that Christmas music had been the one thing about Christmas that didn't bother him. As he decorated alongside Gibbs though, he couldn't help bursting out in a sing-along to his favorites and dancing. Gibbs of course was amused. When the song 'I Saw Mommy Kissing Santa Claus' came home, Tony grabbed the Santa hat he'd bought, put it on, and grabbed Gibbs. As he pulled a surprised Gibbs into his arms, he sang the words, changing "I saw mommy kissing Santa Claus" to "I saw daddy kissing Santa Claus". Gibbs would chuckle and kiss Tony every time to play along with the song, not once thinking of the irony of the song.

When they moved to the tree, still tied up and laying on the ground by the door, they worked together to get it into the tree stand. Tony made some comments about not having a lot of selection when he'd gotten to the store. As Gibbs pulled out his knife to cut the strings, he assured Tony that he was sure it'd be good enough. When he cut the last string, they both stepped back to admire the tree. Gibbs had been right in his first assessment; it wasn't big or full, but it wasn't puny or too naked. Actually, now that it was fluffed out, it was short and stocky and kind of cute. With the fire roaring next to it and the festive blanket under it to catch the lose needles, it actually might've been the best Christmas tree either had ever seen.

Tony looked at his lover and was proud to see the smile on his face. "It's just right, isn't Gibbs?"

Gibbs looked at Tony with a smile and nod, before he seemed to get an idea and said, "I've got just the thing it needs to make it perfect though. Be right back." With that, he turned and rushed up the stairs.

Tony shrugged and went to check on the food. He stirred some and took some off before returning to the tree. After a moment, he heard Gibbs come back down the stairs and into the room. He turned to see his lover holding a rather old, worn cardboard box. But what made Tony gasp, his eyes widen, and his chin drop open was the words he saw written in crayon on the side: '_Jethro, Shannon, and Kelly Gibbs' Xmas stuff'_.

"Gibbs," Tony whispered with awe.

Gibbs' heart was pounding as he walked to the tree and Tony and set down the box of the stuff he could never bring himself to get rid of. Unable to say anything, all he could do was look up at Tony with an expression that revealed his ever-present grief as well as his hope that Tony would realize that Gibbs was showing that he was willing to share everything and anything with Tony, because that's how much he loved him. The second Tony looked down into the blue eyes of the man he loved, he knew just exactly what a gift Gibbs had just given him. His eyes flooded with tears, and his smile was so big it threatened to split his face. "I love you so much Leroy Jethro Gibbs," he whispered.

Gibbs smiled and relaxed with relief as he saw his gift was accepted. He instantly stood and pressed his lips to Tony's in a searing kiss. Tony grabbed on to his face and poured just as much emotion into it as he was getting. Gibbs wrapped his arms around him and pulled him closer. When they parted, it was because their lungs were screaming for air. They both smiled at each other dreamily as they rested their foreheads together.

Feeling the words come to him, Gibbs opened his mouth and allowed the words to flow. "Where ever you are, as long as I'm right there with you, I think I'm really going to enjoy this Christmas thing again. Merry Christmas Tony."

Tony could feel the ice around his Christmas spirit melt as well as Gibbs' words reached his heart. They'd both rediscovered the true meaning, the true joy of Christmas: spending it with your loved ones close. And neither was going to let that slip away ever again. Tony said, "Merry Christmas Jethro." And as he leaned in for another kiss, he mentally came up with another quirk. '_Gibbs Quirk Number 23: as long as he has someone he loves to spend Christmas with, not only is he not a Grinch, but he truly knows how to spread the true Christmas spirit.'_


	13. Gibbs' Quirk Number 5

Disclaimer: I still do not own NCIS. Just this story

Note: hello all. I hope everyone is well. I just wanted to say thank you for the comments, favorites, and follows. And I'm sorry that I haven't posted in a while- well, it probably hasn't been that long but it feels long to me lol. I had what is called a ganglion cyst which is basically this pocket of fluid that forms near joints. I had one in my wrist and it hurt like hell. Earlier this week I went to the doctor to have it fixed, and he basically just numbed me with novicane, stuck in a needle, and sucked out most of the fluids from the pocket. It was actually kind of cool for me but I have a stronger stomach than most so I'm sorry if that grossed you out lol. Anyway, after the fluids were removed, it hurt really REALLY bad. It actually still hurts. But it's been driving me crazy not being able to write so I powered through the pain and wrote this. It's kind of short, but I hope you enjoy it anyway! (:

~~~~~NCIS~~~~~

The first time Tony saw him do it he didn't think much of it. The second time, it made him pause for a few seconds before he shrugged it off. The third time, it definitely caused him to feel some confusion. The fourth time, he had purposefully made sure it would happen just so he could be sure he was seeing what he was actually seeing. When his boss rounded the corner from the elevator and saw the offending piece of plastic, he bent down, picked it out of one bin, and tossed it in the other. Tony did his best to hide his shocked amusement. Yup, Gibbs definitely was picking the recyclables out from the trash and putting them in their designated blue bin.

Tony had been with the older man for nearly two months now. He had come to realize a few oddities about his boss, some rather big oddities actually. But this was definitely the oddest one yet. At least the other stuff was explainable. The fact that he had a set of rules, used headslaps as a form of discipline, had been married four times yet divorced three, had killed the man who murdered his first wife and their daughter, none of that stuff compared to this newest discovery. Sure, some of it was a bit concerning, but for some reason seeing that this was a habit of Gibbs' made the man seem absurdly normal, human. Not that Tony thought Gibbs wasn't normal or human. It's just that the older man walked around with this proud walk, back straight, a smirk on his face at times, a glare at others, his blue eyes able to bring others to a weak, studdering mess. He could even make the Director rethink himself with the right ice-blue-eyed glare. Men who outweighed Gibbs, who were taller, who were more powerful would run away with their tail between their legs. It awed and fascinated Tony, and made him grateful that he never got the full blast of Gibbs' glare. It was like Gibbs had this God-like quality of making people do what he wanted, and Tony didn't understand how he did it. He tried to copy the Gibbs Glare, aiming it at Probies or that snively guy from accounting. He finally got to the point when they would get uneasy under the Tony Glare, but it didn't have even half the power that Gibbs' did. Abby confirmed that, although it was getting better, it wasn't like Gibbs'. And since Tony kind of saw Gibbs as this sort-of-God-like man, seeing him behave like an actual human for once was kind of refreshing.

"There somethin' you wanna say DiNozzo?" Gibbs' bark cut through his thoughts.

Tony jumped a bit and immediately said, "No Boss. Absolutely not."

Gibbs arched a brow at him but sat down at his desk anyway. As the older man got to work, Tony did his best to look at him discreetly. He kept his head down towards his paperwork, but his eyes kept wandering upwards across the room to look at Gibbs. He was a hard man to figure out, yet Tony liked to think that, even in the short amount of time he had known Gibbs, he knew Gibbs better than most people. He got the feeling Gibbs knew how Tony ticked for the most part too. They just had that sort of connection. This however was puzzling. Though he got the feeling that Gibbs was one of those Robin Hood types- the kind that would stand up and fight for the weak, the poor, and the beaten- and would therefore not be against doing his part to help the environment, he wasn't sure what Gibbs' motivation for recycling was. Nor for his habit of fixing other people's mistake by picking out the dirty plastic from the icky trash and putting it in the right can.

If this were anyone else, he'd come right out and ask why he did it. But he knew Gibbs didn't like being asked personal questions, and he wasn't sure if this was considered a personal question, but he didn't want to chance it. In the past, Gibbs had always ignored Tony's personal questions until it got to the point where Tony asked too many and then Gibbs would tell him to shut up. He had learned to not press his luck. He had a good thing going with Gibbs, had never felt more happy in one place, more like he belonged here and nowhere else. He didn't want to make Gibbs want to get rid of him. Not even to ask what seemed like a simple question.

"DiNozzo?"

Tony moved to fully look up at Gibbs, not realizing he had been staring at him for more than a minute straight now. The older man was looking at him with a mixture of annoyance, confusion, amusement, and affection. He smiled crookedly and asked teasingly, "Would it make you feel better to just ask whatever it is you wanna ask? 'Cause I'm pretty sure I'll feel better once you stop pretending not to be looking at me."

Gibbs had joked around with Tony a couple times since he'd joined NCIS, but it shocked Tony every time. It took him a moment for his mind to catch up before he laughed and flashed Gibbs a smile, "I'm kind of afraid you'll headslap me so hard I'll find myself in China."

Gibbs rolled his eyes, "Not gonna happen Tony. Come on. Out with it."

Tony waited. His green eyes dared to look straight into Gibbs' blue ones. He was one of the only people who could do it without consequence. With that thought he opened his mouth and spoke, "Every time there's something that needs to be recycled in the trash, you pick it out and put it in the recycling bin. From what I can tell, you aren't one of those save-the-environment freaks- not that there would be anything wrong with that if you are. I could definitely see you being D.C.'s own Captain Planet. Ya know, flyin' around the world, telling people how to take care of nature and whatnot-"

"Awh jeez DiNozzo," Gibbs feel back in his chair and rubbed a hand over his face.

Tony immediately reprimanded himself for making Gibbs feel sorry he was allowing Tony this opportunity. "Sorry Boss. Moving on. My question here is why do you do it?"

Gibbs looked at him for a few silent moments. His blue eyes were unreadable for the most part, though Tony could've sworn he saw a hint of deep, dark pain before he covered it up. Then Gibbs smirked and said, "I'll answer that question honestly if you answer one of mine."

Tony's eyes widened. Gibbs had never seemed too interested in him or his life before, not beyond what affected him at work. Tony felt a bit hesitant. He and Gibbs both shared the need to keep personal things close. But Tony had to admit, if he were going to share anything personal with anyone, he would share it with Gibbs. The deep trust he felt towards Gibbs was the foundation of that, something he didn't even feel with his fiancé Wendy. With that thought, Tony copied Gibbs' body and leaned back in his chair, "Alright Gibbs. I'll take you up on that. Do you wanna answer or ask first?"

Gibbs smirked proudly before his face went serious. He took a deep breath, "Someone I used to know was very into the environment. She was so furious that our neighborhood didn't take recyclables that she made a petition, called all the necessary politicians, rallied others in the development, and single-handedly made it so that there was a truck that collected the recyclables." Gibbs trailed off as his eyes fogged over.

Tony knew better than to interrupt and ask who 'she' was. Plus, Tony already had a pretty good idea. Shannon. Most likely. Kelly had probably been too young to do all that, though since she was Gibbs' daughter, she probably would've controlled people just as well as Gibbs could. The thought of the little eight year old alongside her father, both dressed in green fabrics and tights, stealing from the rich and giving to the poor, flashed through his mind and almost made him chuckle out loud. But he held it in knowing it was a good time to laugh while Gibbs was clearly enjoying bittersweet memories. Tony was about to tell Gibbs it was his turn when the older man blinked away the memories, as if they had never appeared in the first place. He was his usual self as he asked, "Why did you change the way you dress?"

"Huh?" Tony looked down at his usual designer suit.

"When we first met, you wore jeans, sweaters, normal people clothes. I even recall you telling me that I couldn't outrun you because of your tube socks," they both chuckled. "But now? No jeans, no sweaters, and no tube socks. Why the change?"

Tony couldn't believe that Gibbs remembered what he was wearing the day they met. Nor could he believe Gibbs had actually noticed his change in appearance. A few people had asked him that as well, but he had just told them that now that he worked for the big boys, he wanted to dress like a big boy. Which wasn't completely a lie. But he knew that if he told Gibbs that, the older man would see right through that half-truth. And Gibbs had been honest with him; he deserved an honest answer in return. "It's a combination of a couple of things. One part of it is that I wanted to look professional enough to be working here and alongside you since you dress nice every day. Another part is that I was criticized a lot by Danny and a few others about the way I dressed and didn't want that to continue here. But the biggest part is…" he trailed off, not sure if he should continue.

Gibbs looked at him patiently and openly, making it obvious he wanted Tony to go on.

Tony took a deep breath, "Wendy. Things have been… difficult between us for a while now. We fight a lot then pretend it never happened and go back to lying to ourselves that we're happy. One night, I heard her telling one of her friends that she didn't think things would work between us and that she was thinking of ending it. She said that she should've known I was all about work and nothing else based on the way I dress. I didn't worry about what people thought of me, the impression they would get from my clothes; I just cared about my clothes being functional and comfortable for chasing down dirtbags and staying at the precinct overnight if I had to. But I thought that maybe if I started dressing like a man she would want to stay with, she'd…"

"Realize you were someone she wants and can stay with, that you're willing to change whatever it takes about you so that you can make her happy," Gibbs finished for him knowingly.

"Yah." Tony was right; Gibbs did really understand him. He smiled slightly at the man, a smile which Gibbs returned. Green and blue eyes stayed locked as they both seemed to be thinking the same thing- that they were glad that they opened up to each other. Blue eyes were filled with almost as much trust as the green.

After a moment, Gibbs nodded and stood up. "Getting' coffee. Want some?" he asked as he grabbed his coat.

"Yes please. The usual?"

Gibbs nodded. He had memorized Tony's coffee preference within the first month. Tony smiled his thanks and went to go back to his paperwork.

"And Tony?" a quiet voice spoke.

Tony looked at and the calm, sky-colored eyes.

"If she wants to change who you are, then you deserve someone better."

Tony's eyes widened and before he could even say anything, Gibbs was walking away and then was gone. Tony wasn't sure if he was more shocked that someone had told him he deserved better or that Gibbs was the one to do it. After a few long moments, he laughed to himself and went back to work. Then suddenly Tony realized, he had discovered another quirk. Happily, he pulled out his notebook and flipped to the right page. Not really wanting to touch on the weirdness of Gibbs' question and what happened after it, he decided to focus on the thing that started this weird day.

"_Gibbs' Quirk Number 5: picks recyclables out of the trash and puts them into their designated bin."_


	14. Gibbs' Quirk Number 26

Disclaimer: same as always

Note: SO since it's Valentine's Day and I'm single, I decided to be all cute and romantic via the world of Tibbs. I hope those who do have a significant other had a good V-Day, and those who didn't have a good one for whatever reason, distract yourself with Tibbs-y cuteness! Enjoy! (:

~~~~~NCIS~~~~~

"I don't see what the big deal is Gibbs!" Tony said angrily as he put his hands on his hips and glared at his lover. "You like Jackie! You like Vance! Jackie likes us! And Vance is actually accepting of us! All they want to do is have a double date! What is so wrong with that?"

Today was the most love-filled day of the year. Valentine's Day. Originally, Tony and Gibbs hadn't talked about it. Tony just felt that the day served no point, not when they showed each other how much they loved each other every day. He didn't know how Gibbs felt about it but he hadn't said anything, so Tony just assumed they'd make dinner and watch a game or movie like they did every night. But for some reason, Vance had decided to call them into his office and tell them to come to dinner. And yes, it was more "telling" then "inviting". Vance had said that Jackie insisted since she hadn't seen Gibbs in a while and hadn't seen them together yet. So as per her orders, Gibbs and Tony were to show up at the Vance's house tonight at 7 for a Valentine's dinner.

While in the office, Tony and Gibbs had shared a look that let Vance know they were discussing it silently as they did. Vance had said, "I'm not exactly happy with being all coupley with you two either. But my wife- well Gibbs knows what she's like." Gibbs grunted in agreement. Leon smiled, "Good. Then I'll tell her your coming."

With that, Gibbs and Tony left to go back to work. All through the day however, Gibbs was extra grumpy and growly. He nearly made McGee throw up when he yelled at him for no good reason. When he glared and barked at Ziva, she had seemed shocked, hurt, and slightly fearful. He tried to redirect Gibbs' rage to him every time; he knew how to handle Gibbs' moods better than the other younger agents did. When Palmer came to the bullpen to drop off a report and then attempted to stay and chat, Tony immediately shook his head and motioned for him to run. Palmer would most definitely not be able to handle Gibbs' rage. Thankfully, the young ME's assistant got the hint and took off.

When they got home, Gibbs was still pissy and stalked off to the basement. Tony was feeling a bit annoyed and pissed off himself. Up until now, if Gibbs had had a problem, they had gotten into a good habit of talking it out with each other. Tony was kind of hurt that Gibbs just stalked off like he did, but he thought he may just need a while to cool down. When the older man didn't come up and it got to be time for them to start getting ready, Tony couldn't hold it in anymore. He went down to see what was up. Even before he could say anything, Gibbs had growled, "Don't even start Tony. Let's just get this dinner over with."

Tony had blanched for a minute. Gibbs hadn't spoken to him like that since they had gotten together. That is what led up to this moment. Tony, with his hands on his hips glared at his lover as he waited. When Gibbs didn't answer, he threw his hands up and blurted, "Fine. Don't talk. I have to go shower and get ready anyway. You better get ready too so we're not late. Vance is our boss after all, and I'm sure he still doesn't like me much so he'll find a way to blame it on me. I will not let my career suffer because of your grumpy ass." With that he turned and went to shower.

He knew he might have been a little short with Gibbs, but he refused to feel guilty. If Gibbs had just talked to him, then they wouldn't be in foul moods. Sure, Tony wasn't a fan of the day and understood why Gibbs probably wasn't either. But that was no excuse for Gibbs' sudden mood swing.

When Tony had finished in the shower, he got out and dressed in a nice, designer suit. He had to make the best impression he could after all. When Gibbs came in to the room to get tidied up, Tony blatantly ignored him. Gibbs stayed silent too, so it wasn't hard. Then Tony went downstairs to get his shoes and coat. Gibbs followed behind, wearing black slacks and his light blue Polo that highlighted his eyes and made Tony drool. Tony swallowed hard, thankful Gibbs didn't notice, and instead looked at him with a combination of a glare and a lifted eyebrow.

When Gibbs saw this, he shrugged, "Jackie hates it when I don't dress casual."

Tony nodded once before grabbing the car keys and moving out the door with Gibbs following. The ride to the Vance's was silent, both thinking about wanting to break the silence but not knowing how. When they got to the door and rang the bell, Vance was the one to answer. Pleasantly he smiled and said, "Welcome Gibbs, DiNozzo."

They returned the greeting as they stepped into his house. The smell of freshly cooked food wafted through the house, making Tony's mouth water. Vance saw Tony's expression and chuckled, "Wait 'til you taste it. She made extras for you to take home."

Tony laughed and asked curiously, "She that confident with her cooking?"

Vance nodded and opened his mouth to say something when a voice called around the corner, "I know when I'm good at something, and I'm proud enough to say that my cooking can make even the pickiest person like it and the grumpiest person happy just from tasting it."

Tony chuckled as Jackie came around the corner. He flashed her his most charming smile and said, "If it tastes as good as it smells, than you've already got my vote Mrs. Vance."

She hugged him and said, "Call me Jackie honey. Even Gibbs does."

Tony was shocked by the hug but returned it warmly, "Thank you for having us Jackie."

"Oh! It's my pleasure! Leon told me Gibbs had finally found love and I wanted to meet the person immediately."

"Technically, we've met before," Tony blushed as he heard the word of their love had spread. Gibbs had been the one to tell Vance, so he had to have told Vance he was in love with Tony. He spared a glance at his lover who was deep in conversation with Vance.

"Yes, we have. But that was business. Now that you and Gibbs are together, I will have none of that ya hear?"

Tony chuckled, "Yes ma'am!" He winked at her.

She nodded and said to everyone, "Now, come and sit down. Leon baby, come and help me."

"Alright dear," Leon said with a sweet smile meant for his wife.

They all went to the table, Gibbs and Tony next to each other on one side while Leon and Jackie went to get the food. Tony quietly reached for the wine glass that was filled with red wine and rolled his eyes good-naturedly when he saw that it had one of those decorative ring things on it with a heart on it. That was definitely Jackie's idea. Just as he was about to swallow, Tony's hand that was resting on the table was suddenly enveloped by another warm hand. He choked slightly as he looked at Gibbs' hand tightly holding on to his. When he calmed, confused green eyes met bright blue ones. After a moment of staring, Tony felt something inside him settle as he could see the apology written in Gibbs' eyes. He also could tell that Gibbs wanted to talk about what happened earlier. He smiled lovingly at Gibbs in acceptance and leaned forward to kiss him quickly. Gibbs smiled at Tony as he pulled away just as Vance and Jackie came in, each carrying two dishes of food.

As dinner and then dessert went on, the two couples talked and joked. They were having a good time, even Leon. Jackie was telling them stories about Leon, much to Vance's embarrassment. Tony and Gibbs were laughing. Tony shared some stories of his own about his first years with Gibbs and stuff that happened after they had gotten together. When Tony and Gibbs finally went to leave, they were all happy they'd done this. As they left, Jackie called after them, "Take care of each other and come back again soon. Enjoy the leftovers! And Tony, dress casual next time."

When they finally got home, Tony went to put the leftovers in the fridge then collapsed on the couch. "Man, that Jackie is a talker huh? Poor Vance. I felt so bad for him with some of those stories. Like the fact that he cried more than she did at their children's births, not something he wanted his employees knowing I'm sure," Tony laughed, "Good thing he's the director and I'm sort of afraid of him because he can fire me whenever he wants. Otherwise, he would never be able to live some of that stuff down." It was then that Tony noticed Gibbs wasn't laughing with him or coming over to sit to him like he normally would. He looked over to where Gibbs was standing in the frame between the living room and front entryway. "What's wrong Gibbs?"

For a moment, Gibbs just continued to stare at Tony. Then he walked forward and held out his hand. "Come with me," he said gently.

Tony immediately took the hand offered to him and let Gibbs pull him towards the basement. He stayed quiet as they went down into the Gibbs Cave, thinking about what Gibbs could possibly want. Finally, they came to stand between the work table and the boat Gibbs had just finished. (Gibbs had told Tony he wanted to build one for them to sail on over the summer.) There was a dirty once-white sheet covering the end of it Tony noticed, but he didn't think much of it. Until Gibbs went to stand by it. Tony's brow furrowed, and he was about to ask what was happening.

Gibbs beat him to it though. "Tony. I'm sorry," he held up his hand to cut Tony off when he opened his mouth to tell Gibbs he was already forgiven. "I realized I let my disappointment come out as anger, anger that I directed at you and Ziva and McGee. And I just want you to know I'm sorry. I love you, and I hate to upset you. But the reason I was disappointed was that I was really looking forward to spending our first Valentine's Day together. I never really had a problem with this day; Shannon thought it was stupid but we would still get each other something small to acknowledge it. After I lost her, it just went back to being 'Single' Awareness Day'." Tony couldn't help the chuckle to the reference about the small rant McGee had gone on one year about Valentine's Day. "Anyway, so I had this day all planned out. After work, I was going to make you your favorite dinner, your favorite ice cream for dessert. We'd relax on the couch for a while as the game or movie you picked ended. Then I'd take you down here and give you your gifts."

"GiftS?" Tony gasped, emphasizing the 's'.

Gibbs nodded before continuing, "So for your first gift, I was going to name this boat after you. But then I couldn't stop laughing when I thought about you complaining about calling the _Tony_ 'she', and decided it needed a different name. So I thought long and hard about what I could name it that would show my feelings for you. And it came to me."

With that, he grabbed the sheet and whipped it away. When Tony saw it, he gasped before a huge smile took over his face. The boat's name was the _Baltimore_. "Gibbs," Tony breathed as he took a few steps forward. With a gentle hand, he ran his fingertips over the letters in awe.

"Without that case that led me to Baltimore, I would not have you," Gibbs said softly by Tony's ear.

Faster than Gibbs could blink, Tony threw his arms around Gibbs' neck and crushed their bodies together. "Oh Gibbs," Tony breathed, "I love it. It's perfect. Thank you."

Gibbs hugged him back. "You're welcome," he said quietly, not expecting Tony to love it so much.

After a moment, still not letting go of Gibbs, Tony asked, "So what's my next gift?"

Gibbs chuckled and gently smacked the back of Tony's head.

Tony giggled and added, "Don't think you're going to top that though. No offense." Tony pulled away and turned back to the name painted on the boat, touching it gently again. "This is just so amazing."

Gibbs smiled to himself before faking a straight face. "I'm going to show you how to get it out of here," he said seriously.

Tony spun around to gape at Gibbs with shock. For years, Tony had been asking Gibbs how he got the boats out of the basement! It never occurred to him that, because they were together, Tony would find out somehow; he just hadn't thought about it. He had imagined a million different scenarios of how he did it; they all had. And now, Tony would be the only one privy to said information. A huge, excited smile came over his face, "You're serious?"

Gibbs nodded with a smirk.

Tony squealed in an unmanly way and attached himself to Gibbs once again. Gibbs laughed, glad and proud that he had made Tony so happy.

"I love you Tony."

"I love you too Gibbs. So freakin' much! Thank you for my gifts!"

"You're welcome," Gibbs blushed.

As Tony hugged Gibbs tightly he realized there was another quirk. '_Gibbs' Quirk Number 26: celebrates Valentine's Day and gives the best gifts ever!'_


End file.
